A recent change in the way Medicare pays for joint replacements is saving millions of dollars annually — and could save billions — without impacting patient care, a new studyhas found. But the man Donald Trump has picked to be the secretary of Health and Human Services has vocally opposed the new mandatory payment program and is likely to revoke it.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2014 Medicare physician fee schedule (PFS) Final Rule. CMS calculates the 2014 Physician Fee Schedule Conversion Factor (CF) to be $27.2006, or a 20.1% reduction from the current CF of $34.0230. Total payments under the fee schedule in 2014 are projected to be at $87 billion, according to CMS. Payments to physicians are calculated primarily on three key factors: the resource-based relative value scale (RBRVS), the geographic practice cost indexes (GPCIs), and the monetary conversion factor (CF).
