2006 Medicare fees: Your Medicare physician and anesthesia conversion factor is frozen at 2005 levels, but your pay may still change

Why This Topic Matters

Even when a national conversion factor is held at a prior-year level, local geographic indices and revised coding can still change reimbursement. Readers who bill Medicare services need this overview to anticipate payment differences and understand the broader scope of fee schedule adjustments.

Article Sections

1. 2006 Medicare fee update overview

   Introduces the 2006 Medicare payment update and the main policy changes affecting physician and anesthesia reimbursement.

2. Anesthesia conversion factor and geographic updates

   Discusses local anesthesia payment variation, geographic adjustment changes, and examples of how locality-based reimbursement may differ in 2006.

3. Physician conversion factor and retroactive adjustments

   Summarizes the physician conversion factor change and notes that prior claims may be reprocessed to reflect the updated amounts.

4. Other payment adjustments and code revisions

   Covers broader geographic practice cost index changes, service-level payment changes, and the replacement of certain drug administration reporting codes.

5. CMS reprocessing and payment timing

   Explains how claims repayment is expected to occur through periodic reprocessing rather than a single lump-sum payment.