Instructions for
Practice Impact Calculator
(Click here
for the practice impact calculator)
The attached Excel spreadsheet will help you estimate the impact the
Medicare payment cuts will have on your cardiology practice. The spreadsheet
lists national average Medicare payments for 2009 and 2010 national average
Medicare payments for 200 CPT codes cardiologists bill to Medicare most
often. The codes are listed in numerical order, with separate rows for
professional and technical components, as appropriate. This is not an
exhaustive list, but it does account for the vast majority of services
cardiologists provide to Medicare beneficiaries.
To approximate the impact of the proposed payment cuts on your practice
you’ll need to enter information into columns labeled “In
Office Medicare Frequency” and “Out of Office
Medicare Frequency.” For each CPT code, enter the number
of times your practice performed that service for Medicare patients in
the office into the “In Office Medicare Frequency”
column. Enter the number of times your practice performed the service
for Medicare patients in outside of the office (in the hospital or an
ASC, for example) in the “Out of Office Medicare Frequency”
column. The spreadsheet will calculate the total change in payments for
each service and then total the impact at the bottom of the sheet. All
columns that should be completed are highlighted in yellow.
Because of the substantial change to consultation
codes, there is a separate spreadsheet that is required to be completed
for commonly provided evaluation and management service. By clicking on
the tab labeled “consultation worksheet”, you can then complete
the same information for consultations and other E/M services. The consultations
performed last year will be crosswalked to hospital and office visit codes
based on some assumptions made by ACC on how services will be reported.
Please keep in mind that the proposed 2010 payments shown on the
spreadsheet do not include the across the board 21.5% cut to the
Medicare conversion factor that will take effect on January 1 if Congress
fails to prevent it. Also, remember that this spreadsheet shows
only the impact on Medicare payments. Many private payers follow along
with Medicare’s payment trends, so reduced Medicare payments could
be only the beginning.
Once you’ve completed the spreadsheet, the ACC’s grassroots
and media teams are standing by to help you best use the data to inform
members of Congress and your local media. Please send your results, along
with the information outlined below, to advocate@acc.org.
Key Information:
- Practice Name (The ACC will not disclose this information)
- Contact Name
- Contact Phone
- Contact Email
- Number of Physicians in Practice
- Number of Practice Sites
- Is Echocardiography Provided in Your Office?
- Are Nuclear Services Provided in Office?
- Based on the Calculator, What is the Projected Percent Decrease in
Total Revenues?
- What Action(s) Will You Take in Response to the Cuts?
If you have any difficulties with the spreadsheet or have any questions,
please call Rebecca Kelly at 202-375-6398 or Brian Whitman at 202-375-6396. |
