HIMSS News
CMS Publishes Final Rule on Physician Fee Schedule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Medicare physician fee schedule final rule for CY10, which will reduce Medicare payment rates for physicians by 21.2 percent in the absence of Congressional action to avert the cut. The U.S. House of Representatives has introduced draft legislation to permanently reform the physician payment formula. A similar measure in the Senate did not pass a vote at the committee level in October. The CMS final rule will appear in the Nov. 25, 2009 Federal Register. CMS will accept comments on designated provisions of the final rule until Dec. 29, and will respond to comments at a later date. Unless otherwise specified, the new payment rates and policies will apply to services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries on or after Jan. 1, 2010.
