July 14, 2022
On July 7, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule for the 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). The MPFS sets physician reimbursement under Medicare and serves as the basis of payment schedules used by most public and private payers.
Under the proposed rule, CMS would decrease the MPFS conversion factor (CF) by 4.5%, from $34.61 to $33.08. Most of the decrease (3 percentage points) is attributed to the expiration of temporary, COVID-19-related CF increases passed by Congress in 2021 (see p. 769) and 2022 (see p. 3). The rest of the decrease (1.5 percentage points) is attributed to an interplay of changes to evaluation and management (E/M) codes (as recommended by the AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee) and a statutory budget neutrality requirement.
The MMA recognizes that cuts to physician reimbursement are inconsistent with inflating practice costs and commits to lobbying, alongside the AMA, for more appropriate rates. The MMA will continue to inform its members as additional analyses of this 2,000-page proposed rule are conducted and as lobbying strategies to counter its cuts are developed.
If you have any questions related to the proposed rule or any payment-related issues, please contact Adrian Uphoff, policy analyst.
October 23, 2025
The MMA, along with the University of Minnesota Medical School, will hold a virtual physician forum on November 5 at noon on “Health Professions Education and Minnesota's Rural Health Workforce.”
October 23, 2025
AMA staff have confirmed that, as of October 21, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has guided Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to lift their temporary holds on Medicare fee-for-service claims impacted by provisions that expired on October 1 – including all Medicare fee-for-service claims in Minnesota.
October 23, 2025
For the second time in eight weeks, national grief expert David J. Schonfeld, MD, FAAP, visited Minneapolis. The first trip was days after the Annunciation Catholic Church and School shooting when he met with school leaders to help with the healing process. He returned October 21 to revisit the school and to meet with local healthcare providers at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) to offer tips on dealing with the aftermath of crisis.