The Dec. 1 cut will be followed a month later by a 1.9 percent reduction under final rules released by CMS.
The cut to Medicare physician pay is scheduled under the sustainable growth-rate formula, which the American Medical Association has lobbied to repeal. Congress delayed a scheduled pay cut of around 20 percent in June.
The final rule also includes a 7-9 percent reduction in payment for physical therapy services and newly adopted payment incentives of 10 percent for PCPs and general surgeons in health professional shortage areas, according to the report.
Read the Medical News Today report and the Modern Healthcare report on the 2011 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule.
Read more on Medicare:
–AHA Urges Congress to Extend Nine Expiring Medicare Policies
–AMA Leader: Failure to Avert Looming Fee Cut Would Be “Catastrophe”
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