You've got the usual 60 days to comment on all the provisions in CMS's proposed 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS). Just visit www.regulations.gov or click our direct link to the comment page for the proposed rule. The official deadline to file your comment is 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on Aug. 24.

Part B News subscribers can download a special supplement to our proposed 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule coverage in the latest edition of the newsletter. We've compiled seven charts impacting physician reimbursements into one document. The charts are:

• CPT codes subject to 90% equipment utilization rate assumption that will be subject to 75% assumption in 2011;
• Codes proposed to be added to the 75% equipment utilization rate assumption list;
• Separately payable "Always Therapy" Services subject to the proposed MPPR policy;
• Proposed Cost Share Weights for GPCI update;
• Primary care services eligible for primary care incentive payments in 2011;
• Total allowed charge estimated impact for RVU, MPPR, and MEI rebasing changes; and,
• Impact of proposed rule and estimated physician update on payment for selected codes.

The document is labeled "2011_Proposed_MPFS_charts.pdf" in the Hot Documents section of the PBN Library.

CMS is giving physicians and non-physician practitioners (NPPs) an extra chance to switch their Medicare status from non-participating to participating between now and July 16. This extra window is being provided because of the 2.2% medicare payment increase under the pay-fix bill that passed June 24, the agency says. If you're currently non-par, you must complete the usual CMS-460 form and mail it by July 16, 2010 ... (read more).

Rumors on the release date for CMS's final meaningful use rule have been circulating for the last few weeks, with most educated guesses coalescing around July 16 as the latest date. These guesses are coming from some very well-informed folks who will speak at our live conference on electronic health records (EHRs), so I decided to see if they were on target. Earlier this week, I fired off an email to some folks I know at the HHS Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) to see what they were willing to say ... (read more)

The Senate's six-month Medicare pay patch proposal has received a chilly reception in the House of Representatives, so far. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has panned the bill as "inadequate" and called on the Senate to pass an expansive package of tax provisions, extenders and the House Democrats' 19-month doc fix.

"The inadequate legislation on physicians' fees that Senate Republicans allowed to pass today is a great disappointment," Pelosi stated in a press release on Friday. "The House has approved long-term reform that ensures that Medicare patients will have access to quality physicians' services."

The House's American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act failed to gain enough support to pass procedural hurdles in the Senate last week. The Senate only passed the six month fix - which retroactively raises Medicare reimbursements by 2.2% from June 1 through Nov. 30 - by unanimous consent after CMS began processing physician claims with the 21.3% sustainable growth rate (SGR) cut on Friday. The SGR cut only effects claims with dates of service on or after June 1.