Medicare recently released its proposed fees for healthcare professionals scheduled to take effect January 1, 2014. As expected, there were winners and losers…a few are noted below but Click here to learn how others will be affected.
Winners
Physical / Occupational therapists… +1%
Family practitioners…+1%
Chiropractors…+2%
ER physicians…+2%
Losers
Dermatologists…-1 to -2%
Radiologists… -1 to -2%
Pathology specialists…-5%
Radiation therapy centers…-13%
$600 million – that’s what Medicare estimates it will pay to
practices in 2013 for managing patient transitions from hospitals or skilled
nursing facilities, according to American Medical News.
New CPT codes will allow physicians to bill for previously
unreimbursed care-coordination. A result of the AMA working with Medicare since last year, the codes cover:
- Efficient reporting of time spent
discussing a care plan
- Connecting patients to
community services
- Transitioning patients from
inpatient settings and preventing readmissions
Additionally, the codes, in effect since January 1, cover complex chronic care coordination. The new CPT codes are:
99495, 99496, 99487, 99488, 99489. Review new code descriptions here. No decision yet as to whether commercial insurers will accept
the new codes.
