Help Stop Medicare Payment Cuts

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule on November 2.

In the final rule, the Agency finalized a separate payment for add-on code G2211 to account for visit complexity associated with certain office/outpatient E/Ms. The code will go into effect on January 1, 2024, if no Congressional action is taken. The ACS continues advocacy efforts to stop payment cuts to surgeons resulting from implementation of this add-on code.

All ACS members in the US are urged to use the SurgeonsVoice website and send a prewritten, customizable email to their Members of Congress to help stop the planned 3.4% cut for surgeons.

Other important provisions of the MPFS include implementation a split (or shared) evaluation and management (E/M) billing policy for E/M visits provided in part by physicians and in part by nonphysician practitioners (NPPs) in hospitals and other institutional settings, as well as an indefinite pause on the appropriate use criteria (AUC) program for advanced diagnostic imaging and rescinded AUC program regulations.

The final rule and fact sheet on its payment provisions are available online for public review. Contact lfoe@facs.org for more information.

In recent weeks, the College has been engaged in multiple activities to educate Congress about the need for long-term Medicare payment reform to ensure the future of access to surgery in the US, ease administrative burden for surgeons, and more. Read the November ACS Advocacy Brief for more information and learn more about issues that may affect surgeons.