{"id":13572,"date":"2021-06-02T21:44:36","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T21:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/?p=13572"},"modified":"2025-05-20T06:10:23","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T06:10:23","slug":"medicare-reimbursement-for-orthopedic-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/medicare-reimbursement-for-orthopedic-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicare Reimbursement for Orthopedic Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sets reimbursement rates for Medicare providers and generally pays them according to approved guidelines such as the CMS Physician Fee Schedule. Medicare reimbursement for orthopedic surgery follows the same set of rules; however, recently the amount of Medicare reimbursement for orthopedic<\/a> trauma surgery has fallen by nearly one-third over the past two decades, according to a recent study.<\/p>\n

The current pandemic impacted adversely for example- State and federal COVID-19 relief packages offered throughout the year could lead to additional cuts down the line, leaving smaller practices already operating on fine margins in particular distress.<\/p>\n

While many surgeons believe that reimbursement cuts were inevitable, one of the biggest concerns is that the scope and magnitude of the cuts will limit access to care when patients need it most.<\/p>\n

\"Legacy<\/a><\/p>\n

It is threatening to observe that physician payment for surgical services is looming. Various policies from CMS in the FY 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) propose to cut all orthopedic surgical services by 5%.<\/p>\n

These policies have the potential to destabilize an already challenged healthcare system and drastically diminish the opportunity for physician practices to recover financially from the public health emergency.<\/p>\n

Four keys CMS updates<\/a> for spine surgeons in 2021:<\/h2>\n