Article archive / December 1, 2016
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 12. Source pages: 7.
National News Medicare Finalizes More Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid finalized the rules for provider payments for 2017 on October 30. Mandatory cuts are made on all providers. The cut is 2 percent in 2016 and will be 2 percent in 2017, according to an announcement from the American Psychological Association (APA). APA officials also noted, “In addition to losses caused by sequestration, Medicare payments to psychologists have declined significantly since 2001 because under the current formula Medicare pays more for higher-cost, technology-driven services with high overhead.”
In another announcement, APA governmental relations officer, Doug Walter, noted that CMS has developed several new codes for the Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) but that psychologists and other behavioral providers cannot bill for these services. They are restricted to physicians in primary care, care managers, and psychiatric consultants.
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