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Orthopedic Coding Alert

#2:

Keep in Mind That Medicare Lowers CF to $36.0666 for 2009

Published on Tue Mar 03, 2009

You won't feel as big a crunch, thanks to neutrality adjustment. CMS released the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for this year when they sent it to the Office of the Federal Register. Although the physician community was told they would be seeing a 1.1 percent increase, the conversion factor ultimately is a 5.4 percent reduction. Despite a lower conversion factor (CF), however, the news isn't all bleak. In fact, your practice may see an increase in reimbursement this year. Here's what you need to know to be ready. Some Specialties Fare Better Than Others Don't lose heart when you see CMS's 2009 conversion factor of $36.066 -- a drop from last year's $38.0870. CMS attempts to make up for the practice expense reduction, which lowered the conversion factor by 6.5 percent, by boosting the conversion factor adjustment by 1.1 percent. Therefore, despite the lower conversion factor, the relative value units [...]
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