Part B News | Editors' Blog

CMS: Wellness visits done in hospital settings will be held until April

by: Grant Huang Mar 14, 2011

CMS has issued a reminder that annual wellness visit (AWV) services rendered in the hospital setting (inpatient or outpatient) will be held by contractors and not paid until April 3. This only applies to AWVs that are billed alone on a claim; when the AWV is billed with another service, the entire claim will be processed, the agency says. The reason is that Medicare contractors must update their claims processing systems; they won't be ready to process standalone AWVs until April 3.

Obama's proposed 2012 budget includes 2-year pay fix

by: Grant Huang Feb 15, 2011

Just in time for Valentine's Day, President Obama's proposed 2012 budget was unveiled Feb. 14 and includes a two-year physician payment fix that freezes the 25% cut called for by the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). The two years are theoretically fully paid for by savings that HHS/CMS expects to reap from Medicare and Medicaid. These expected savings come from two sources: payments recovered by federal fraud and abuse efforts, and better prices on drugs purchased by the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

CMS: MA plans see lower premiums, higher enrollment

by: Grant Huang Feb 14, 2011

Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have actually seen increased enrollment and lower premiums, according to the latest data from CMS. Agency chief Donald Berwick MD touted the news during his Feb. 10 testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee. The data shows that, on average, premiums have fallen 6% while enrollment numbers have increased by 6%, to a total of more than 12 million MA beneficiaries.

Help get rid of burdensome federal regulations

by: Charles Fiegl Feb 10, 2011

Politicians from President Barack Obama to House Republicans want to get rid of burdensome federal regulations. Eliminating regs (including rules about salmon or r ed meat) is a hot topic in Washington.

Lawmakers have solicited input from various stakeholders and groups. The AMA has responded by creating a new survey to funnel physician input on how federal rules impact their practices.

CMS chief gets warm reception at AMA conference

by: Grant Huang Feb 10, 2011

I listened to CMS Administrator Donald Berwick, MD, give a speech on the Medicare physician pay fix and the future of the payment model earlier this week at the AMA's annual advocacy conference in downtown Washington. Before a crowd of physicians, Dr. Berwick -- a former pediatrician -- said he was "committed" to a permanent sustainable growth rate (SGR) fix. While this earned the expected applause, Dr. Berwick spent much more time discussing a dramatic overhaul of the Medicare fee-for-service system, a major change that he painted as being inevitable.

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