The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has released the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule, which includes a conversion factor decrease of $1.30 that goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.
Early estimates indicate that payments to cardiologists will decrease by approximately 1% when the new MPFS goes into place.
Though advocacy experts from the American College of Cardiology and other cardiovascular societies are still reviewing the final MPFS rule, the American Medical Association (AMA) did issue a statement emphasizing that reduced payments for physicians could represent a step backward at an already challenging time for the entire industry.
“This comes at a time when physician practices are still recovering the personal and financial impacts of the COVID public health emergency,” wrote Gerald E. Harmon, MD, AMA president. “Congress is beginning to recognize that this financial instability could limit health care access for Medicare patients. The clock is ticking.”
One key policy update that affects cardiovascular specialists is the removal of the national coverage determination (NCD) that had previously determined transvenous pulmonary embolectomy should not be covered by Medicare. The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) and others had long pushed for this NCD to be removed.
Also, penalties for failing to comply with the Appropriate Use Criteria program are being delayed yet again, according to this final rule; they are now expected to begin in 2023, nearly a full decade after the policy was first introduced.
A CMS press release on the final rule can be read here.
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Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.