AMA CPT® Assistant - 2020 Issue 1 (January)
Medicare RBRVS Changes in 2020 (January 2020)
January 2020 pages 3-5 Medicare RBRVS Changes in 2020 Conversion Factor for 2020 On November 1, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Final Rule for the calendar year (CY) 2020 Medicare Physician Payment Schedule (MFS). To calculate the CY 2020 Medicare conversion factor (CF), CMS applied a budget-neutrality adjustment of 0.14%. This increase of 0.14%, effective January 1, 2020, results from the implementation of RUC recommendations for misvalued services. The CY 2020 Medicare CF is $36.0896. Effective January 1, 2020, the anesthesia CF is $22.2016, which reflects the same overall...
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Article Overview
This article explains major 2020 Medicare RBRVS and physician fee schedule changes discussed by CMS, AMA, and the RUC. It is relevant to physicians, coders, billing staff, practice managers, and compliance professionals who follow Medicare payment updates, CPT/E/M revisions, care management reporting, telehealth, and quality payment program issues. The discussion is organized around payment updates, coding and valuation changes, care management services, telehealth, geographic practice cost adjustments, and MACRA/QPP context.
Why This Topic Matters
The article helps readers understand how Medicare policy changes may affect physician reimbursement, coding workflows, and planning for upcoming documentation and payment revisions.
Article Sections
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January 2020 pages 3-5
Introduces the article scope and the Medicare payment policy updates covered in the issue.
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Conversion Factor for 2020
Summarizes the annual Medicare physician payment update and related adjustment factors for the year.
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Coding Changes and Work Relative Values
Covers CPT-related valuation updates, RUC recommendations, and CMS implementation themes affecting physician services.
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Important Changes to E/M Office Visits in 2021
Discusses upcoming evaluation and management office visit revisions and associated documentation and coding updates.
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Administrative Burden Relief Implemented by CMS in 2019
Reviews prior CMS efforts aimed at reducing documentation and administrative burden in office visit reporting.
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Summary of E/M Office Visit Revisions for 2021
Outlines broad categories of office visit revision topics, including history, exam, time, and related code changes.
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Care Management Services
Addresses CMS payment and coding changes affecting care management service categories for 2020.
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Transitional Care Management
Discusses updates related to transitional care management reporting and payment policy.
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Chronic Care Management
Summarizes changes involving chronic care management service reporting and new add-on coding.
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Principal Care Management
Describes new principal care management coding and payment developments.
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Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring
Covers Medicare coverage and coding updates for self-measured blood pressure monitoring services.
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E-Visit Services
Discusses online digital evaluation service updates, including CPT and HCPCS-related replacements and parallel reporting paths.
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Medicare Telehealth
Reviews new telehealth coverage related to bundled monthly treatment episodes for opioid use disorder care.
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Potentially Misvalued Services
Provides background on RUC review processes for services identified for valuation review and refinement.
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Geographic Practice Cost Index
Explains geographic payment adjustment topics and the impact of locality-specific practice cost indices.
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MACRA 2015 and Medicare’s Quality Payment Program
Summarizes Medicare payment pathways under MACRA and references related quality reporting resources.
What You Will Learn
- How Medicare physician payment updates for 2020 are organized and why they matter.
- Which broad coding and valuation topics were highlighted for CPT and E/M services.
- What categories of care management and telehealth changes were discussed for Medicare.
- How geographic payment adjustments and quality payment program pathways fit into the broader policy update.
Who Should Read This
- Medical coders
- Billing staff
- Physicians
- Practice managers
- Compliance professionals
- Revenue cycle teams
Codes Discussed
Code Ranges Discussed
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