Final 2014 fee schedule released: CMS finalizes smaller rate cut, allows telehealth for TCM

Why This Topic Matters

The final physician fee schedule can affect reimbursement, reporting burden, coverage availability, and compliance processes across multiple specialties and service lines. Readers can use this article to understand which CMS policy areas changed for 2014 and where additional operational planning may be needed.

Article Sections

1. Payment update and impact overview

   Summarizes the finalized physician fee schedule update and the broad specialty-level payment impact discussed in the article. Also notes timing issues and implementation context.

2. Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS)

   Covers the 2014 quality reporting requirements, reporting thresholds, and related CMS changes for eligible professionals.

3. No codes for complex chronic care management services

   Discusses CMS’s timing for future chronic care management coding and the preparation needs mentioned in the article.

4. Telehealth and TCM

   Addresses CMS’s final decision on telehealth use in transitional care management and the related policy expansion.

5. Therapy caps revised

   Reviews the annual therapy cap update, the role of critical access hospitals, and the status of related exceptions and review provisions.

6. Incident-to language tightened

   Summarizes the changes CMS made to incident-to policy language and the state-law emphasis described in the article.

7. Overpayments

   Covers the revised time frame for pursuing overpayments and the related administrative recovery context.

8. Investigational device exemption (IDE) rules

   Describes CMS’s updated standards and review approach for clinical trial coverage under IDE studies.

9. Screening test coverage expansions

   Highlights the preventive screening coverage changes discussed for abdominal aortic aneurysm screening and fecal occult blood testing orders.

10. No changes to payments for chiropractic providers for E/M services

    Notes the final position on chiropractic billing and the scope of services CMS declined to expand at this time.