CMS Revises CY 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Payments
On January 11, 2011, CMS published corrections to its November 20, 2010 final Medicare physician fee schedule rule for calendar year 2011. The document addresses errors in the budget neutrality, conversion, anesthesia, and other factors; errors in the work, practice expense, and malpractice relative value units (RVUs); and errors in the addenda. In a related development, CMS has posted an "emergency update" to the 2011 Medicare physician fee schedule files, reflecting the recent statutory changes and certain technical corrections. The final conversion factor for 2011 is$33.9764, compared to the December 20, 2010 conversion factor of $36.8729. Although the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010 (MMEA) called for a 0% update to the physician fee schedule, CMS has adjusted the conversion factor downward to ensure budget neutrality in light of other changes to RVUs. CMS also has issued a corresponding transmittal to contractors with additional details on recent statutory policy changes impacting physician fee schedule payments.
