1-year postponement in Medicare reimbursement cuts included in fiscal cliff package

January 4, 2013 — The president signed fiscal cliff legislation Wednesday containing a one-year delay in a scheduled cut in reimbursement for Medicare providers, including doctors of chiropractic.

The legislation will block a 27-percent payment cut to Medicare physicians that was due to start Jan. 1, and keep rates frozen at current levels for the rest of this calendar year. Medicare providers were also set to face an additional 2-percent cut due to further budget tightening provisions, known as “sequestration,” but that too has also been suspended to give Congress time to find alternatives to these across-the-board cuts in federal programs.

Now that the fiscal cliff legislation has been signed, Medicare claims contractors will adjust their 2013 fee schedules accordingly; many have already removed the reduced 2013 fees from their website so this adjustment can be made.

ACA recommends that doctors of chiropractic check their contractor’s website periodically for these new fees. Contact your claims contractor for what to do in the interim if the 2013 fee schedule is not yet posted.

Source: American Chiropractic Association, acatoday.org