Congress passed legislation Jan. 18 known as a continuing resolution (CR) that funds the federal government through early March.
Unfortunately, the latest CR did not include provisions to stop the full Medicare pay cut included in the 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule, resulting in a 3.37% cut to the conversion factor (CF), the dollar amount used to convert relative value units (RVUs) to payment.
The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) urges its members to contact their lawmakers immediately through an ACR Call to Action, asking that they take steps now to legislatively avert the Medicare pay cuts.
An ACR-led coalition of physician and non-physician providers successfully worked with Congress to mitigate reimbursement cuts since 2020. In 2022, Congress added an additional 1.25% to the CF for 2024. However, even with the additional 1.25% from Congress, the anticipated utilization associated with implementation of G2211, an add-on code to be billed with evaluation and management services, as well as other RVU changes, resulted in a 3.37% reduction to the CF for 2024.
The current CR expires in March, so there is an opportunity for Congress to act to provide more relief to the CF for 2024.
Participation of all College members is essential to encourage lawmakers to use this opportunity to protect seniors’ access to quality care and provide stability to the Medicare program.
For more information, contact Rebecca Spangler, ACR Senior Government Affairs Director.