While the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is touting the behavioral health and other benefits of the physician fee schedule final rule released Tuesday, physicians are denouncing its 4.5% payment decrease caused by statutory-mandated cuts. Combined with a 4% Medicare cut stemming from the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, physicians said they were looking at a nearly 8.5% Medicare cut on Jan. 1.
The 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule reflects the end of the temporary 3% supplemental increase from 2022, Healthcare Finance reports.
The 2023 PFS conversion factor is $33.06, a decrease of $1.55 from the 2022 conversion factor of $34.61. This conversion factor reflects the statutorily required update of 0% for 2023, the expiration of the temporary 3% supplemental increase in 2022 payments that were provided by the Protecting Medicare and American Farmers From Sequester Cuts Act, and the statutorily required budget neutrality adjustment to account for changes in payment rates, according to CMS.
Physician groups are pressing for Congress to intervene to stop the cuts. Many are pushing for Congress to pass the Supporting Medicare Providers Act. Read more.
