Under the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule, therapy services could see an 8% cut in reimbursements. The cuts would be a direct result of an effort obtain budget neutrality, which would be impacted by the rule’s proposed increases to Evaluation and Management payments in 2021, as an increase in one code set throws off the balance for all others, and, thus, cuts would need to be made.

Because therapy professionals typically do not or cannot bill for Evaluation and Management services, the profession, as a whole, could certainly be negatively affected by the change and the 8% decrease in reimbursements, if the rule passes.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is accepting comments on the proposed rule through September 27, 2019. To make your concerns heard, we encourage you to contact CMS directly by submitting a form here.

Disclaimer: The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.