Medicare Increases Fees to ED Physicians for 2001

Why This Topic Matters

Fee schedule updates can change reimbursement expectations across specialties and affect how certain physician services are represented in billing systems. This article helps readers identify the Medicare policy changes and code-set updates tied to the 2001 update cycle.

Article Sections

1. 2001 Physician Fee Schedule overview

   Summarizes the Medicare payment policy revision announced in the Federal Register and its broad effect on physician reimbursement for the year. It also notes the overall payment environment across specialties.

2. Conversion factors and specialty impact

   Covers the fee schedule conversion factor changes and the article’s discussion of how estimated payment changes vary by specialty. It identifies the general categories of provider groups referenced in the rule.

3. Home health certification and recertification

   Discusses the addition of separate payment for physician involvement in Medicare home health services and the planned introduction of new HCPCS items for those services. The section focuses on the policy area rather than specific billing decisions.

4. Wound care code revisions

   Describes the wound care portion of the final rule, including a deleted temporary code and related new wound management entries. It also addresses the RVU reassignment mentioned in the article.

5. New wound closure HCPCS code

   Introduces the new HCPCS item for wound closure using tissue adhesives and notes the article’s mention of its global period treatment. The section is centered on the addition of this service classification.

6. Accessing the Federal Register final rule

   Provides directions for locating the full final rule in the Federal Register online. This section is informational and references where the complete policy document can be found.