What’s at stake Before the pandemic hit in March 2020, the Medicare program only paid for telehealth services in very limited circumstances: COVID-19 sparked policy change and led to dramatic increases in adoption of telehealth by patients and physicians. Early in the pandemic, with strong support from the AMA, such restrictions on coverage for telehealth services were […]
With physician burnout at all all-time high, physicians are searching for ways to provide high-quality patient care while easing some of the burdens prevalent in medicine today. “Never before has there been a greater need to be able to leverage digital solutions and technologies to help really meet the need of helping to ensure that the […]
As it does every Fall around this time, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released its final version of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for 2023 (the “Final 2023 MPFS”), the regulatory Rule governing payment and coverage policies for physician services, including reimbursement for Remote Therapeutic Monitoring (“RTM”) services under the new CPT code […]
This week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Calendar Year 2023 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule. The final rule includes several National Council and RCPA recommended priorities. These are wins for mental health and substance use care organizations that will help expand access to care by strengthening the workforce. RCPA recommends […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released on Tuesday the final physician fee schedule rule that sets out payment rates for 2022. The rule also includes several provisions that aim to expand flexibility for telehealth reimbursement for mental health. CMS had expanded flexibility for providers to get Medicare reimbursement for telehealth at the onset […]
As the nation’s largest health care payer, responsible for more than one in five dollars spent on health care within the United States, Medicare plays a key role in transitioning the health care system away from fee-for-service, which incentivizes quantity of care, and towards value-based care, which incentivizes high-quality care and smarter spending. The passage […]
The CMS Behavioral Health Strategy covers multiple elements including access to prevention and treatment services for substance use disorders, mental health services, crisis intervention and pain care; and further enable care that is well-coordinated and effectively integrated. The CMS Behavioral Health Strategy also seeks to remove barriers to care and services, and to adopt a […]
Following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra kicked off the National Tour to Strengthen Mental Health in an effort to hear directly from Americans across the country about the behavioral health challenges they’re facing and engage with local elected officials and leaders to […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is expanding access to behavioral health care, cancer screening coverage, and dental care. The Calendar Year 2023 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule announced today also promotes innovation and coordinated care in the Medicare program through Accountable […]
The experience of cancer — of getting a cancer diagnosis, surviving cancer, losing someone to cancer — has touched virtually every American family. This is personal for the President and First Lady, like it is for so many of you. As Vice President, in 2016, Joe Biden led the Cancer Moonshot with the mission to […]
Physician payment cuts are coming, significant changes to E/M services are finalized, and key reporting revisions are hitting telehealth and audio-only services, according to the final 2023 Medicare physician fee schedule. Proposed payment cuts that drew vocal criticism from physician advocacy groups will move forward as planned, as CMS announced a 4.5% reduction to the 2023 Medicare Part B […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Nov. 1 issued a final rule that updates the physician fee schedule (PFS) for calendar year (CY) 2023. The rule also includes changes related to the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Quality Payment Program (QPP), both of which were created by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act […]
WASHINGTON — Physician groups expressed concerns over what one group called a “substantial” decrease in Medicare fee-for-service physician payments under a final rule for 2023 issued Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule includes a 4.5% decrease in the conversion factor — the multiplier that Medicare applies to […]
Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is expanding access to behavioral health care, cancer screening coverage, and dental care. The Calendar Year 2023 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule announced today also promotes innovation and coordinated care in the Medicare program through […]