Part B News | Editors' Blog

Breaking: 2020 fee schedule confirms E/M overhaul, updated rates, new codes and more

by: DecisionHealth Staff Nov 1, 2019

The vast reshaping of E/M documentation standards and payment changes took a significant step closer to reality as CMS put a stamp of approval on its previous proposals to overhaul how medical practices report office and outpatient E/M services 2021.

Next year many providers will see a modest boost to the conversion factor that, along with relative value units (RVUs), dictates pay rates across all services in the Medicare physician fee schedule. The conversion factor will rise to $36.0896 in 2020, which CMS previously proposed, from $36.0391 in 2019, according to the final fee schedule. However, the anesthesia conversion factor will decrease to $22.2016 in 2020 from $22.2730 this year. That’s a drop from the proposed anesthesia conversion factor of $22.2774.

20-20 vision: 2020 CPT update features new drug implant, nerve injection and destruction codes

by: Laura Evans, CPC and Julia Kyles, CPC Aug 27, 2019

Here’s a good reason not to rely on CMS and the physician fee schedule for your CPT coding advice: The agency appears to be a bit confused about how to use the new musculoskeletal add-on codes for drug delivery device implant and removal.

Breaking: CMS backtracks on E/M pay changes, pivots to documentation overhaul

by: DecisionHealth Staff Jul 29, 2019

You can dismiss a lot of the controversial updates to office E/M services, such as blended payment rates, that drew an outcry from the medical community. But you’re now on the clock to get in line with far-reaching documentation changes for these oft-used services, according to the 2020 proposed Medicare physician fee schedule released today.

Sweeping E/M code changes emerge ahead of 2021 ready date

by: DecisionHealth Staff Jun 27, 2019

The groundbreaking E/M code changes that are on track to arrive by 2021 gained clarity after the AMA released a preview of the E/M documentation guidelines you’ll use to code office visits in 2021.

Final FY 2020 ICD-10-CM changes include hundreds of new tabular instructions

by: DecisionHealth Editors Jun 24, 2019

The CDC has posted the FY2020 ICD-CM final code changes, and the good news is there were no changes to the proposed list of 273 new, 30 revised and 21 invalidated codes that were released in the proposed inpatient hospital prospective payment system rule, April 23.

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