HAP Radiology Billing and Coding Blog

2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule Includes Payment Reductions for Radiology on November 8, 2023

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Final Rule for 2024, including provisions for both Medicare reimbursement and the Quality Payment Program (QPP).

Categories: interventional radiology, cms, MPFS, radiology, QPP, diagnostic radiology

How Medicaid Unwinding Could Impact Radiology Practices on October 12, 2023

During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, states were required to maintain enrollment of nearly all Medicaid enrollees as a condition of receiving a temporary 6.2 percentage point Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increase under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). There was significant growth of national Medicaid enrollment figures due to this continuous Medicaid enrollment requirement, coupled with additional incentives for states to implement Medicaid expansion. The Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that the combination of Medicaid and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) enrollment has increased by over 23 million people between February 2020 and March 2023. However, when that continuous enrollment condition ended on March 31, 2023, Medicaid enrollment numbers started to decline. States had to resume normal operations, including restarting full Medicaid eligibility renewals and terminations of coverage for individuals who are no longer eligible. The full process could take up to a year, with the earliest removals from coverage having begun in April 2023.

Categories: cms, radiology, medicaid

What’s In Store for Radiology In The 2023 Medicare Proposed Rule? on July 19, 2022

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) press release announcing the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Proposed Rule for 2023 highlights expanded access to behavioral health services, Accountable Care Organizations (ACO), cancer screening, and dental care. Of these areas, cancer screening could be important to radiology practices, but the news was not good – CMS declined to include CT colonography coverage while it expanded coverage for traditional colonoscopy. The MPFS regulates the Medicare fee schedule payment provisions as well as the Quality Payment Program (QPP).

Categories: radiology reimbursement, cms, MPFS, MIPS, MIPS participation, radiology, QPP

Regulatory And Payment Issues That Will Impact Radiology Practices In 2022 on November 23, 2021

Keeping abreast of the various healthcare rules and regulations from federal and state authorities can sometimes be overwhelming for a practice’s management. Here is a summary of some of the most important regulatory issues to be aware of for next year, along with a few payment policy decisions that are not governmental. The links will take you to our recent articles and other sources that probe each topic in more depth.

Categories: cms, MPFS, low dose CT, CPT codes, radiology, QPP, surprise billing

CMS Has Released The 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule on November 16, 2021

Coming a bit earlier in the month than usual, the release of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Final Rule for 2022 contains few changes from the rule proposed earlier this year. The Proposed Rule reported a 2022 Conversion Factor (CF) of $33.5848 per Relative Value Unit (RVU), but the Final Rule adjusts the figure slightly upward to $33.5983. This is a reduction of 3.71% from the 2021 CF of $34.8931. In addition to this cut, practices will see an additional 2% payment reduction when sequestration resumes on January 1, 2022.

Categories: cms, MPFS, Quality Payment Program, radiology, quality measures, Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

More Evidence That Radiology is Not the Source of Medicare Spending Increases on September 22, 2021

It seems that diagnostic imaging and radiology are often blamed for increasing the cost of healthcare, especially Medicare costs. Not so, says a recent study that was reported in Radiology Business on August 30, 2021.

Categories: medicare, cms, radiology

Medicare’s Proposed Rule For 2022 Has Few Changes for Radiology, but Likely a Cut in Reimbursement on July 27, 2021

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released its proposed changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for 2022. The Proposed Rule is usually modified somewhat before it becomes the final rule for each year, but it gives an idea of the direction Medicare reimbursement is headed. The Medicare Proposed Rule contains payment policy decisions as well as changes to the Quality Payment Program (QPP).

Categories: cms, MPFS, radiology

Low-Dose CT (LDCT) Lung Cancer Screening Guidelines Are Changing on July 21, 2021

Based on revised recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is considering an adjustment to its reimbursement policy for LDCT Lung Cancer Screening. CMS expects to complete its decision-making process before February 2022. In the meantime, many commercial payers have already expanded coverage by adopting the new recommendations.

Categories: radiology reimbursement, cms, radiology, lung cancer screening

Update on The Quality Payment Program on March 17, 2021

The Quality Payment Program (QPP) continues to be modified due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced some leeway for clinicians affected by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Categories: radiology reimbursement, cms, QPP, COVID-19

Major Cut in Radiology Reimbursement For 2021 Is Finalized By CMS on December 7, 2020

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the final set of rules that will govern the Medicare payment system for the coming year, thereby affirming the drastic cut in radiology reimbursement for 2021 that was proposed earlier this year.  There were few surprises in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Final Rule that were not contained in the proposed rule, other than a slight improvement in the fee schedule conversion factor and a change to the QPP Performance Threshold.

Categories: radiology reimbursement, cms, MPFS, radiology, QPP

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