2010 Medicare fee adjustments: The story so far

Why This Topic Matters

Medicare payment updates can affect claim reimbursement, retroactive reprocessing, and operational planning for physician practices. Understanding the timing and scope of these 2010 changes helps billing and reimbursement staff track when revised rates may apply and where CMS policy changes are being implemented.

Article Sections

1. Medicare fee schedule changes in 2010

   An overview of the payment changes affecting physician claims during the year and the timing of updates as they were rolled out.

2. Conversion factor updates

   Discussion of the changing Medicare conversion factor values across different date ranges in 2010.

3. GPCI changes and retroactive processing

   Summary of geographic payment adjustments tied to federal legislation and the associated retroactive claims processing issue.

4. Q2 RVU changes

   Coverage of the second-quarter implementation policy for Medicare relative value updates and related geographic payment adjustments.

5. Q3 RVU changes

   Coverage of additional relative value updates and fee schedule corrections implemented later in 2010.

6. Official resource

   A reference to where current Medicare RVUs, GPCIs, and fee schedule changes could be reviewed.