Spending Bill Increases Medicare Reimbursement Rates
Down 3.37%? Up 2.93%? Easy come, easy go. See what your practice should do in light of the recent sturm und drang with Medicare payments.
What
Congress recently passed a temporary budget bill that gave physicians some relief from Medicare payment cuts. In the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule, CMS reduced the 2024 conversion factor (the amount Medicare pays per relative value unit) from $33.8872 (2023) to $32.7442 (2024), a 3.37% reduction. The new spending bill – the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 – updated the conversion factor, contributing a total 2.93% payment increase from the final rule conversion factor ($32.7442). Despite this relief, physician advocates continue to pressure Congress as they understand this relief is temporary and does not address the need for comprehensive Medicare payment reforms.
When
The pay cut that was in the 2024 Physician Fee Schedule became effective on January 1, 2024. On March 9, 2024, President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which included the updated conversion factor to reduce the pay cut by half. The new conversion factor applies to services delivered between March 9, 2024, and December 31, 2024. It does not apply retroactively to services delivered before passage of the act.
