ACR ’gravely concerned‘ over proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule rule changes
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The American College of Rheumatology is “gravely concerned” about proposed rule changes to the CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program, the organization said in a statement.
The proposed rules include decreased conversion factors and proposed reimbursement for physicians performing musculoskeletal ultrasound procedures, according to the ACR. The group is paying close attention to updated provisions for telemedicine, the statement added.
“The ACR is concerned with the 3.34% decrease in the conversion factor and the proposed reimbursement for musculoskeletal ultrasound,” the ACR told Healio in an email. “We are carefully reviewing the new telehealth provisions that denotes permanent and provisional services for future reimbursement following the 2024 sunset of telehealth flexibility that were instituted during the public health emergency.”
In the published statement from the ACR, President Douglas White, MD, PhD, discussed some concerns regarding the new rule changes.
“While the ACR appreciates CMS’ continued recognition of the value of complex care provided by rheumatologists and other cognitive care specialists by continuing to operationalize the Evaluation and Management (E/M) coding changes, we are gravely concerned that the proposed rule’s physician payment cuts contained in CMS’ conversion factor would add to physicians’ uncertainty about their continued ability to provide the highest quality of care to Medicare patients,” White said. “The ACR will review the rule closely and looks forward to working with the CMS and Congress to mitigate the fee schedule’s impact on physicians who continue to confront workforce shortages, onerous payor utilization management policies, and sustained payment cuts.”
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