In a special edition publication from CMS, the 2021 conversion factor was released and confirmed to be $34.8931. This is a modification from the 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule that would have resulted in a 10% conversion factor cut. The change was due to the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CCA) of 2021 legislation released on December 27th.
CMS has recalculated the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule payment rates to reflect this change. The revised payment rates are available in the MFPS Final Rule downloads section, specifically under the file “Impact on Payment for Selected Procedures”:
https://www.cms.gov/medicaremedicare-fee-service-paymentphysicianfeeschedpfs-federal-regulation-notices/cms-1734-f
The CMS special edition newsletter can be found here: https://www.cms.gov/outreach-and-educationoutreachffsprovpartprogprovider-partnership-email-archive/2021-01-07-mlnc-se
The CCA contains additional Medicare provisions and is located here: https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/BILLS-116HR133SA-RCP-116-68.pdf
HBE’s team of coding and compliance experts is available to assist you with implementation of all of the 2021 changes, design and review of documentation templates, providing customized education and training for your staff, as well as auditing and monitoring,. We are also available to provide assistance with conducting risk assessments, internal investigations, charge description master reviews and policy and procedure development.
DISCLAIMER: This newsletter only summary information and highlights; it should be read in conjunction with the full article or document provided as a link. Any advice or recommendations are general and specific questions should be directed to professional counsel.