The decreases to work relative value units (“wRVU”) for most physician services in the Final Rule[1] for the 2026 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (“MPFS”) will largely offset the reimbursement bump from the conversion factor (“CF”) rate increases for physicians in many specialties. While the 2026 CF rate for Alternative Payment Model Qualifying Participants (“QPs”) is 3.77% higher than the 2025 CF, and the rate for non-QPs is 3.26% higher, a standard 2.5% wRVU decrease applies to all codes...

In November, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the finalized Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) for 2023. With the release, CMS executes the second phase of its broader initiative to overhaul its coding and payment policies for evaluation and management (E&M) services. Two years ago, the agency significantly modified the current procedural terminology (CPT) for office visit E&Ms, which included changing the coding guidelines to allow providers to select either...

The temporary relief from Medicare sequestration that was provided by Congress early in the COVID-19 pandemic is finally coming to an...