AMA CPT® Assistant - 2017 Issue 1 (January)
Medicare RBRVS Changes in 2017 (January 2017)
January 2017 pages 3-4 Medicare RBRVS Changes in 2017 Conversion Factor for 2017 The Medicare Access and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015 was signed into law on April 16, 2015. The legislation (P.L. 114-10) repealed the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) update methodology for physicians' services in order to provide positive annual payment updates of 0.5% starting July 1, 2015, and lasting through 2019. On November 2, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Final Rule for the 2017 Medicare physician payment schedule (MFS). In order to calculate...
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Article Overview
This article summarizes 2017 Medicare RBRVS and physician fee schedule updates and explains the policy areas they affect. It is relevant for coding professionals, physicians, practice managers, and reimbursement staff who need a high-level understanding of Medicare payment changes, relative value updates, and reporting requirements discussed in CMS and AMA/RUC guidance.
Why This Topic Matters
These annual payment schedule changes can affect reimbursement, service valuation, and reporting workflows across multiple specialties. Readers use this type of update to stay current on Medicare policy changes tied to physician services, geographic practice adjustments, and selected coding revisions.
Article Sections
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Conversion Factor for 2017
Summarizes the 2017 Medicare conversion factor update and the policy factors cited in the article that influenced it.
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Target for Relative Value Adjustments for Misvalued Services
Reviews the legislative background for misvalued service targets and the article’s discussion of related payment adjustment concepts.
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Coding Changes and Work Relative Values
Covers RUC recommendations, CMS implementation patterns, and general categories of coding changes affecting physician services in 2017.
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Improving Payment Accuracy for Primary Care Payments
Describes policy updates related to primary care services and new payment approaches discussed for 2017.
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Moderate Sedation
Summarizes the article’s discussion of 2017 moderate sedation payment and reporting changes.
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Potentially Misvalued Services
Provides background on CMS and RUC review processes for services identified for re-evaluation and broader valuation review activity.
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Geographic Practice Cost Index
Explains the geographic adjustment topics addressed in the article, including location-based payment factors and related locality updates.
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Global Surgery
Discusses CMS reporting policy for global surgery services and the broader data-collection framework described in the article.
What You Will Learn
- How the 2017 Medicare physician payment schedule changed in broad terms
- What policy areas influenced relative value and conversion factor updates
- Which categories of primary care payment and care management policies were highlighted
- How moderate sedation and global surgery reporting were addressed in 2017
- What geographic practice cost adjustment topics were included
- How AMA, RUC, and CMS roles are presented in the update
Who Should Read This
- Medical coders
- Physician billing staff
- Practice managers
- Compliance teams
- Physicians
- Reimbursement analysts
Codes Discussed
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