2024 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
The new CMS Physician Fee Schedule administers another cut; here’s what your practice can do to slow the bleeding.
What
The CMS Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) — the annual outline of how much Medicare will pay physicians for medical procedures — may cause a decrease in revenue for many practices. 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. CMS is, however, retaining the performance threshold for the 2024 Merit-Based Incentive Payment Systems (MIPS) performance period/2026 MIPS payment year at 75 points, as physician advocacy groups requested. This means more MIPS-eligible clinicians will avoid a payment penalty in 2026. Beyond general applications to physicians, the CY 2024 update to the PFS includes changes that impact orthopaedic surgeons' reimbursement and quality reporting.
When
On November 2, 2023, CMS issued the CY 2024 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule. It is effective on January 1, 2024.
