Policy Update: Congress to Avert Most Medicare Cuts, Extends Telehealth Through 2024

December 20, 2022

Full details of the Omnibus Spending bill were released this morning. (Warning: the document is 4,000 pages.) There is a 54-page summary, but here are the top three things to know from the bill.

  1. Congress is increasing Medicare payments by 2.5% over the CMS final rule.
  2. If you are in an MSSP Level E or Enhanced ACO in 2023, you will get a 3.5% AAPM bonus in 2025.
  3. Current telehealth flexibilities are extended through the end of 2024. 

There have been a lot of moving parts regarding the fee schedule between the stimulus for COVID and the reweighting of E&M codes by the AMA and CMS. Below is the comparison of common primary care codes and their 2020 value compared to their 2023 value with the 2.5% increase.

Your actual payments depend on your region. These are the national averages.

The Senate is expected to vote on the roughly $1.7 trillion omnibus package on Thursday. The bill would then move to the House for a vote on Friday.