Physicians Will Get 1.1% Medicare Increase for 2009
CMS says physicians will receive a 1.1 percent Medicare pay increase starting in 2009.
Modern Healthcare (10/31, Lubell) reports, "Physicians will receive a 1.1 percent increase to their Medicare payments in 2009 under a final rule issued by" the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). This "update reflects a provision included in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, which halted a 10.6 percent pay cut scheduled for July 1, providing doctors with a 0.5 percent payment bump for the remainder of 2008." The final rule (pdf) also "establishes a new incentives program for eligible providers that adopt and use qualified electronic e-prescribing systems to transmit prescriptions to pharmacies."
