03/20/2024

Partial Medicare Fee Schedule Fix Passed and Implemented

FEDERAL ADVOCACY UPDATE:

While not erasing the entire 3.37 percent cut that went into effect on January 1, recent passage of the Consolidated Appropriation Act created a 1.68 percent update to the Medicare Physician Payment Schedule conversion factor.

Starting on March 9, the conversation factor increased from $32.74 to $33.2875. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has updated its website to reflect the change and is also releasing updated payment files—including the MPFS and associated abstract files, the Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) FS, and Anesthesia file.

The increase is a result of constant advocacy efforts of OSMA, AMA, and other state and national medical society. Our efforts to reform Medicare payment will continue to ensure the physician fee schedule reflects increases experienced by other healthcare providers and overall inflation.