The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced final changes to policies and payment rates for services to be furnished during 2010 by over 1 million physicians and nonphysician practitioners who are paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule will recalculate estimated utilization rates for imaging equipment—raising it from 50% to 90%—which will lead to significant reimbursement cuts for cardiologists, radiologists, and other specialists. The money CMS saves will be used to boost payments to primary care doctors by 5%-8%.
