Information Regarding the 2015 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

The negative update of 21% under current law for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule is scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2015. Medicare Physician Fee Schedule claims for services rendered on or before March 31, 2015, are unaffected by the payment cut and will be processed and paid under normal procedures and time frames. The Administration urges Congress to take action to ensure these cuts do not take effect. However, until that happens, CMS must take steps to implement the negative update. Under current law, electronic claims are not paid sooner than 14 calendar days (29 days for paper claims) after the date of receipt. CMS will notify you on or before April 11, 2015, with more information about the status of Congressional action to avert the negative update and next steps.

UPDATE 4/2/15

There will be no doc fix until at least mid-April. The Senate adjourned for spring break on Friday morning without taking up legislation to permanently repeal Medicare’s sustainable growth-rate formula for paying doctors. That doesn’t mean physicians will face a 21.2% cut in pay on April 1, when the current patch expires. The CMS has indicated that it can delay processing claims for a period of time in order to keep the cut from being implemented. The House passed the package, which also includes a two-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, by an overwhelming 392-37 margin on Thursday, putting pressure on the Senate. President Barack Obama has indicated that he intends to sign the legislation.