Coding Strategy

On Tuesday evening, the Senate passed H.R. 4691, which freezes the Medicare conversion factor at current levels through March 31.

Because of this vote, you will not face the 21% pay cut until April 1, explains Part B Insider editor, Torrey Kim. Hopefully by that point, a more permanent fix will have been introduced. “The Senate is working on a bill that would extend the current Medicare payment rate until Oct. 1,” reports this article from the AAFP site.

H. R. 4691 is a “hodgepodge” bill that contains a lot of other provisions in addition to this month’s conversion factor freeze, reports The Wall Street Journal. The bill also extends COBRA’s health insurance subsidies.

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The latest on the 21 percent Medicare pay cut.

If your practice leans heavily on Medicare for reimbursement, expect your cash flow to taper off a bit.

CMS has instructed the MACs to hold claims for the first ten business days in March, according to numerous press reports like this one from Healthcare Finance News.

“A bill intended to extend the freeze on Medicare pay at current levels is still sitting in the Senate,” reports Part B Insider editor Torrey Kim. “Hopefully by that point, Congress will have passed an extension of the pay freeze so you won’t be looking at the 21% pay cut.”

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