Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Extra: CMS will debut a new e-prescribing numerator code. CMS's 2010 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule does more than change the conversion factor and adjust RVUs -- it also spells out the income opportunities that you should seize if you want to collect the maximum allowable reimbursement from Medicare next year. In particular, the Final Rule indicates that in 2010, you'll be able to earn a PQRI incentive payment of 2 percent of your estimated total Part B allowed charges -- and CMS will offer additional reporting options to help ease that process. CMS will add 30 individual PQRI measures and six measures groups on which individual eligible professionals may report, the Final Rule indicates. The Final Rule will also add an electronic health record (EHR)-based reporting mechanism, which will "promote the adoption and use of EHRs and provide both eligible professionals and CMS with experience on EHR-based quality reporting," CMS indicates. [...]