Aug. 31 is the deadline to comment on the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services' (CMS') proposal for
cutting Medicare payments to physicians by 21.5
percent
next year.
You can comment electronically by
clicking
here
and following the instructions under More Search Options,
or by mail. The address is Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention:
CMS-1413-P, PO Box 8013, Baltimore, MD 21244-8013.
In commenting, refer to file code
CMS-1413-P.
TMA President William H. Fleming III, MD, says the proposed cut
emphasizes the need for Congress to adopt TMA's
Texas Medicare Manifesto II
to create a system that is fair to physicians and protects
patients' access to care.
CMS says in its press release it also plans to stop paying for
consultation codes, "which are typically billed by specialists and
are paid at a higher rate than equivalent evaluation and management
(E/M) services. Practitioners will use existing E/M service
codes when providing these services instead. Resulting savings
would be redistributed to increase payments for the existing E/M
services."
However, CMS also recommends removing physician-administered
drugs from the Sustainable Growth Rate formula used to calculate
payments.
Action
, Aug. 3, 2009
Last Updated On
June 16, 2010
Originally Published On
March 23, 2010