decisionhealth Newsletters, Coder Pink Sheets - 2018 Issue 12 (December)
2019 final fee schedule roundup: Payment, policy, coding changes at a glance
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Article Overview
This article summarizes major provisions in the 2019 Medicare physician fee schedule and related CMS updates. It is aimed at physicians, coders, billers, therapy providers, and practice managers who need a high-level view of year-ahead payment and policy changes. The coverage includes physician and anesthesia conversion factors, selected procedure valuation changes, hospital outpatient payment alignment issues, therapy reporting updates, and new assistant-related modifiers announced for future use.
Why This Topic Matters
The final fee schedule can affect reimbursement, reporting requirements, and operational planning across multiple specialties and practice settings. This overview helps readers quickly identify whether the full article contains the payment and coding changes relevant to their workflows.
Article Sections
-
Overview of the 2019 final fee schedule
Introduces the scope of the annual Medicare physician fee schedule rule and the range of regulatory changes addressed in the article.
-
Payment updates and conversion factors
Summarizes broad changes to physician and anesthesia payment values for the coming year.
-
Selected procedure valuation and reimbursement changes
Covers updates affecting selected surgical, imaging, and diagnostic services, along with related review activity by CMS and specialty organizations.
-
Hospital outpatient and provider-based department payment policy
Discusses policy affecting off-campus hospital outpatient provider-based departments and their relationship to outpatient payment systems.
-
Therapy reporting and assistant-related modifier changes
Reviews therapy reporting updates, including the transition away from certain reporting requirements and the introduction of new assistant-related modifiers for future reporting.
What You Will Learn
- How the 2019 final Medicare physician fee schedule affects broad payment policy
- Which areas of the fee schedule received notable valuation or reimbursement updates
- What changes were announced for outpatient therapy reporting
- How CMS addressed payment policy for off-campus provider-based departments
- Which specialties and practice types are most likely to be affected by the updates
Who Should Read This
- Physicians
- Medical coders
- Medical billers
- Practice managers
- Therapists
- Compliance staff
- Revenue cycle professionals
Codes Discussed
Modifiers Discussed
Subscribe or sign in to view the full article.
Quick, Current, Complete - www.findacode.com