December 2007

Physician fee cut reversed by Congress – Bush signature expected
Mark Your Calendar for Extravaganza 2008!
Study Guides Now Available In Your Specialty


Hello from the Board of Medical Specialty Coding! We hope you enjoy your monthly ezine and find the information useful. If you have any comments or recommendations for future issues, please contact me through the following channels:

Victoria Forlini, Executive Director
vforlini@medicalspecialtycoding.com
301/287-2250 (phone)
301/287-2941 (fax)

Happy Holidays to you and best wishes for a prosperous 2008!

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Physician fee cut reversed by Congress – Bush signature expected

Good news – it looks like physician practices will duck the Medicare pay cut – at least through June. The House of Representatives passed a bill containing a reversal of the 2008 10.1% average physician pay cut with a sweeping majority Wednesday. The bill, which passed in the House 411 to 3, passed the Senate on Tuesday. It now goes to President Bush, who must sign the legislation before it goes into law.

The bill will replace the 10.1% fee cut with a 0.5% increase in physician payments in 2008. (The cut varied based on specialty.) The legislation sets the conversion factor for first six months of 2008 at $38.0870.

However, the fix is good for only six months. Congress will revisit the issue at the end of June.

Also included in the bill is an extension of exceptions process for therapy caps through June.

The president is expected to sign the new legislation, according to sources on the Hill. The Medicare fee restoration is part of a larger bill that extends the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to early 2009.

The legislation also does the following:

• Extends the 5% bonus payment to physician shortage areas through June 30
• Extends the geographic practice cost index floor of 1.0 through June 30

Find out how the fee cuts will affect your reimbursement at the 2008 Specialty Coding Extravaganza. View the agenda by going to www.extrav2008.com.

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Mark Your Calendar for the 6th Annual Specialty Coding Extravaganza!

DecisionHealth® and Ingenix® are proud to announce the
2008 Physician Specialty Coding Extravaganza.

Don’t miss the only event packed with in-depth, specialty-specific guidance and hands-on practice for medical, diagnostic and procedural coding!

The Extravaganza presents 11 specialty tracks with 1-½ days of coding instruction targeted to the unique circumstances and coverage rules in a given specialty– from the latest on 2008 code changes to troubleshooting payer delays denials.

Plus, for the fist time ever, the Specialty Coding Extravaganza is offering a pre-conference workshop to allow attendees even more instruction time on key issues.

Plus! You can sit for a BMSC exam or earn your CEUs at this event.

Get the agenda and more online at http://www.extrav2008.com or call 866-620-5939 to register today!

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Study Guides Now Available In Your Specialty

BMSC now has study guides available to help you prepare for certification in your specialty.

These study guides are different than you expect, as they are full of exam tips and notes from the editors, providing you with helpful hints as to how to get ready to sit for your examination and become certified.

Each guide is smaller than you expect: they are 6x9 and able to slip right in your purse or briefcase. And most importantly, each guide is no more than 100 pages. Now you can take your time and concentrate on the major points that you need to know for your exam.

Visit www.medicalspecialtycoding.com to order study guides in:

• Anesthesia Coding Certification
• Cardiology Coding Certification
• Evaluation and Management Auditing Coding Certification
• Radiology Coding Certification
• Family Practice/Pediatrics Coding Certification
• Orthopedics Coding Certification
• Pain Management Coding Certification
• Emergency Medicine Coding Certification
• Urology Coding Certification
• General Surgery Coding Certification
• Gastroenterology Coding Certification

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