Highmark: Standby for MPFS Correction
November 16th, 2009
Highmark Medicare Services recently announced that Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) amounts are currently unavailable on its Web site because the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is expected to issue a correction.
Highmark, Part B Medicare Administrative Contractor (B/MAC) for jurisdiction 12, said it will post on its Web site the corrected fee schedule amounts once CMS releases them. “Providers should check the website periodically for any updates,” Highmark said in a Nov. 6 update.
“I am hoping the delay is related to the work in trying to refine the conversion factor, fixing it from the 21+ percent reduction that it is at right now,” said Barbara J. Cobuzzi, MBA, CPC, CENTC, CPC-H, CPC-P, CPC-I, CHCC, president, CRN Healthcare Solutions and senior coder and auditor for The Coding Network. “They are waiting for Congress to take action.”
Legislation (H.R. 3961) that would repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula that calls for annual cuts in Medicare physician payments made it through the House of Representatives Nov. 7 with a 220-215 vote. No word on when the Senate will vote.
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