Will CMS slash 2011 conversion factor 30 percent?

A long-term solution is the need of the hour, the Fee Schedule notes.

Whether your Medicare payments will be slashed is a question on everyone's mind as we get ready to step into the New Year.

What to expect: There's a possible cut to 2011 payments beginning January 1. There are rumblings that another one-year path to keep rates up is under consideration by Congress. Some newly-elected Senators and House members will be in place in 2011, and it is not clear whether the current Congress will make changes affecting 2011 pay before January or whether they will leave the issues for the new Congress to handle.

The conversion factor for the calendar year 2011 PhysicianFee Schedule(Source "") is $25.5217. This amounts to a dismal 30 percent compared to the present rate of $36.8729.

All of this leaves Part B practices in the dark about the future of payments once again. While Congress has provided temporary relief from these reductions every year since 2003, a long-term solution is the need of the hour, the Fee Schedule notes.

Radiology hit hard by RVU cuts as well

Apart from dealing with conversion factor fluctuations, radiology will be among the hardest hit by additional cuts to RVUs and other factors affecting payment. These cuts will have a significant impact on specialty practices that are already stretched financially:

Diagnostic testing facility: 15 percent cut

Radiology: 10 percent cut

Interventional radiology: 5 percent cut

Nuclear medicine: 4 percent cut

Radiation oncology: 1 percent cut.

For more on this and for the latest on the 2011 Fee Schedule, sign up for a medical coding guide like Supercoder!