The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published its 2012 Medicare physician fee schedule on Nov. 1. This fee schedule has a 27.4% reduction in the reimbursement physicians will receive for services rendered in 2012. Sound familiar?
Each year since 2003, Congress has provided temporary relief from the scheduled cuts. In some years the relief comes before the cuts are implemented, but other years it has taken them months to retroactively update the fee schedule.
Participating Physician’s have the unique advantage of being allowed to bill Medicare their normal fee schedule and taking the obligatory reduction in fees when the payment is obtained from Medicare. In past years, when Congress has repealed the fee schedule reduction, CMS carriers have simply reprocessed previously paid claims and remitted the additional money due the participating provider.
Non-participating physicians cannot bill more than the Medicare Limiting Charge for covered services. Cornerstone Medical Management recommends that all non-participating physicians hold submitting claims and collecting from patients until the fee schedule reduction has been fully resolved.
This is $22.00 LESS than 2011!
