Last week, we sent out a special alert, which included news that the U.S. Congress had essentially halved the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) conversion factor reduction for 2024, meaning there should be more money coming your way in Medicare payments than previously expected for this year. For your Medicare EOBs for services performed on or after March 9, your payments will reflect the increased conversion factor signed into law on March 9.
Unlike past congressional actions that attempted to address dipping conversion factors, this most recent fee fix only covers services from March 9 through the end of 2024. In other words, it is not retroactive to January 1, 2024.
On March 15, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released updated relative value unit and anesthesia conversion factor files. The new national physician conversion factor is $33.2875 and the national anesthesia conversion factor is $20.7739.
To get an idea of how the new conversion factor will impact your payment, consider the national, non-facility fees for established office/outpatient E/M code 99214. The following chart shows the base fee for the visit in 2023, 2024 from Jan. 1 to March 8, and March 9 to Dec. 31.
