Family Physicians likely to See Some Gains

Family Physicians: Congress voted to not only stave off a 21 percent cut to your Medicare pay, but to increase the conversion factor by 2.2 percent.

As everyone knows, the Congress voted to not only stave off a 21 percent cut to your Medicare pay, but to increase the conversion factor by 2.2 percent. However that vote only kept the cuts at bay through November 30.

With effect from December 1, your Medicare pay is likely to come down by over 23 percent, unless Congress intervenes to reverse the cuts. To add to it all, the 2011 payments are due to drop even further with effect from January 1, and medical practices are facing a perfect storm of payment nightmares.

Some practices will bear the brunt and face additional cuts. Affected groups include radiology, urology, oncology/hematology, pathology, and emergency medicine. But family physicians have better news to face thanks to the government seeking to give primary care practices boosts in the coming year.

Family medicine practices expect a two percent gain in Medicare allowed charges next year based on an ongoing transition in Medicare's practice expense RVUs, according to one impact table in the final rule. Internists and pediatricians should anticipate a one percent boost in their Medicare allowed charges, as per the same table.

Other practices that'll see their pay go up will be hand surgeons, who will watch their Medicare allowed charges increase on average by four percent. The following specialists will also see gains in the coming year: neurologists (2 percent), otolaryngologists (3 percent), dermatologists (4 percent), plastic surgeons (3percent), and colorectal surgeons (3 percent).

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