decisionhealth Newsletters, Coder Pink Sheets - 2006 Issue 12 (December)
Cardiologists brace for ‘perfect storm' of Medicare cuts
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Article Overview
This article reviews the final 2007 Medicare physician fee schedule as it relates to cardiology. It describes the broad categories of payment changes affecting cardiac practices, including imaging-related reimbursement, practice expense methodology, conversion factor changes, work RVU adjustments, bundled services, and selected Medicare-covered screening and monitoring items. It is intended for cardiology coders, billing staff, and practice managers who need to understand the scope of the fee schedule changes and the procedures most likely to be affected.
Why This Topic Matters
Cardiology practices were facing several overlapping Medicare payment changes at the same time, making it important to understand which services, code groups, and fee schedule adjustments were involved.
Article Sections
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Medicare fee schedule overview
Introduces the 2007 Medicare physician fee schedule and summarizes the payment environment affecting cardiology practices. Covers the timing of the rule and the general context for the changes discussed in the article.
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Major payment pressures affecting cardiology
Discusses the broad categories of Medicare payment adjustments affecting physician reimbursement. Focuses on changes tied to conversion factors, imaging, practice expense, work RVUs, and related fee schedule mechanisms.
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How to calculate your 2007 Medicare fees
Presents the article’s general fee calculation framework for determining Medicare allowable amounts. Includes the sequence of adjustments and locality-related components used in the article.
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2007 Medicare fees for key cardiology services
Provides a table of selected cardiology-related services and their 2007 Medicare fee comparisons. Highlights high-volume procedures and office, hospital, and diagnostic services affected by the fee schedule.
What You Will Learn
- What broad Medicare payment changes were affecting cardiology practices for 2007
- Which general categories of cardiology services were discussed as being impacted
- How the article frames the Medicare fee calculation process
- What types of services were included in the selected cardiology fee table
Who Should Read This
- Cardiology coders
- Medical billing staff
- Revenue cycle teams
- Practice managers
- Cardiology physicians
Codes Discussed
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