New Year Brings Cuts to Medicare Physician Payments While Physicians Wait for Congressional Action
On January 1st, the 3.37% cut to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) conversion factor went into effect. This was due to the provisions of the calendar year (CY) 2024 MPFS final rule issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in November of last year.
The cut was generated by a statutory requirement that payment and policy changes to the MPFS must be "budget neutral," meaning that any changes of $20 million or more must be offset by an across-the-board adjustment to the conversion factor. Physician groups, including HRS, have urged Congress to intervene to avoid cuts to the 2024 fee schedule. Without Congressional intervention, this will be the fourth year in a row that the MPFS conversion factor has been cut.
As Congress returns from its holiday break, a January 19th deadline for funding the government looms. Medicare providers are hoping that Congress will act before the "continuing resolution" deadline expires to keep the government open and, hopefully, also include a fix to the 2024 cuts. Prior to Congress adjourning in December for the holidays, the Preserving Seniors' Access to Physicians Act (H.R.6683) legislation was introduced that would fully eliminate the 3.37% cut. The new legislation, supported by HRS, would help to provide Medicare physicians and other health care providers with the necessary financial support to care for our nation's seniors.
As physicians wait for Congress to respond to advocacy requests urging a fix to the fee schedule cut, CMS has not issued guidance related to claims processing prior to any potential Congressional action. However, note that Medicare contractors are not required to pay interest on delayed payments until the payment on a clean claim has been delayed for more than 30 days. For more information, see the related provisions in the Medicare Claims Process Manual. HRS will continue to keep members updated as Congressional activities resume.