CMS Estimates 29.5% Cut in 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) Conversion Factor Without Congressional Action
CMS recently released its preliminary estimate that, in the absence of a statutory change, the 2012 MPFS conversion factor (CF) will be $23.9396 -- a 29.5% reduction from the December 2011 CF. Contributing to this decline is an expected 17.2% reduction mandated by the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) and a requirement that the update be based on payments that would have been made if Congress had not passed a series of bills to temporarily avert payment cuts in recent years. Note that the 2012 CF is subject to change as additional economic data becomes available to CMS. Moreover, lawmakers are continuing their efforts to develop a long-term reform of the SGR formula, although a deal on this issue has been elusive.
