The final 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) was released on December 1, 2020. Our experts prepared a topline summary of the most important proposed changes to the payment rates and policies for services paid under Medicare, along with the significant policy and payment changes impacting echocardiographers.
Unfortunately, CMS failed to listen to our submitted concerns with the proposed rule and is finalizing a significant shift in physician and nonphysician payments expected to take effect on January 1, 2021 due to a decrease in the conversion factor.
CMS also released the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) final rules on December 2, 2020. This final rule includes policy and payment changes which will be implemented January 1, 2021. You can learn more here.