Psychiatrists, Patients See Important Gains in 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule

APA advocacy scored important victories for psychiatrists and patients in the2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) last week. These include policies regarding physician reimbursement, outpatient telepsychiatry, MIPS (Merit-Based Incentive Payment System) reporting, and virtual supervision of trainees. The new policies will go into effect January 1, 2024.Importantly, CMS accepted APA ’s recommendation to increase the relative value units (RVUs) for psychotherapy codes used alongside a code for an evaluation and management (E/M) services by approximately 19.1%, phased in over four years. For 2024, this will result in an increase in payment for psychotherapy visits of between $3 and $6.Additionally, CMS approved a new E/M add-on code (G2211), which can be used in addition to codes for outpatient E/M services to recognize the resource costs associated with care of patients with chronic or complex conditions.The 2024 fee schedule also includes good news for psychiatrist in the following areas:CMS extended through 2024 the current temporary policy to reimburse outpatient telepsychiatry in the patient ’s home (code POS 02) at the same rate as in-person care. (The patient’s home can include temporary lodgings or other community-based settings.)Medicare practitioners may continue to report their practice location instead of home address when providing telehealth services from their homes.Payment for telehealth serv...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS evaluation and management Intensive outpatient programs physician fee schedule resident supervision telehealth telepsychiatry Source Type: research