On July 7, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program (QPP) updates. Notably, the Fee Schedule decreases the conversion factor from $34.6062 to $33.0775. This 4.5% decrease reflects the sunset of a 3% conversion factor increase for 2022 as dictated by law to assist with financial hardships during the pandemic. Additionally, proposed policy changes for evaluation and management (E/M) code families for nursing homes, home visits and emergency care influenced the decrease in the conversion factor to comply with the budget neutrality requirements of Medicare reimbursement.
These factors, coupled with reimbursement stagnation for payment updates and congressionally mandated cuts, have created financial instability for physicians across all specialties. The ACR will work with the American Medical Association and partner organizations to advocate for greater transparency, predictability and stability in Medicare reimbursement. We recognize the significant impact that these cuts will have on musculoskeletal ultrasound codes. ACR staff and members will develop an active advocacy strategy to highlight the detrimental impact of these cuts to the CMS.
The proposed rule also outlines additional policy proposals, including continuing certain telehealth flexibilities for 151 days following the end of the public health emergency. This includes audio-only telehealth and originating site flexibilities. In addition, updates to the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and policies related to the newly created Advancing Rheumatology Patient Care MIPS Value Pathway (MVP) were also included in the proposed rule.
The ACR looks forward to providing a more detailed summary of the 2023 proposed rule in the coming weeks. Submit any questions to the ACR’s advocacy team at [email protected].
