Following the close of proposed rule’s public comment period on September 11, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) submitted its final 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule regulation to the White House’s Office of Management Budget’s (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for final legal review on September 27.
Released on July 13, the 1,920 -page proposed rule will finalize revisions to payment polices and quality programs for services furnished beginning January 1, 2024, under the Medicare physician fee schedule. This year, the rule includes critical reforms to the Merit Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS), Medicare’s Shared Savings ACO Program (MSSP), telehealth services program, and fee-for service payment rates. Physician trade and advocacy associations have lobbied CMS and Congress to reverse what amounts to a 3.4 percent reduction in Medicare payment rates.
Based on typical timelines for OMB review, the final rule is likely to be released in late October or early November. While it is impossible to predict what changes CMS made based on public comment, changes in the final rule are usually minor. Details from CMS on the proposed rule can be found here. For NextGen Healthcare’s analysis of the rule, clients can view the presentation and recording from July’s Health Reform Simplified webinar on the Success Community here.