Archive of posts filed under the Mental health care financing category.

Impact of Four Year Phased-In Increase of Work RVUs for Psychological Services

Posted by on

In 2023, successful psychology organization advocacy for much-needed increases in the WORK component of the Relative Value Units (RVU) of key behavioral health services (HCPCS psychotherapy codes 90832, 90834, 90837, and Health Behavior Assessment and Intervention [HBAI] services resulted in CMS’s adoption of an increase of 19.1% in the work RVU, phased in over four …

Continue reading ‘Impact of Four Year Phased-In Increase of Work RVUs for Psychological Services’ »

2025 Estimated Reimbursement Top Ten Psychologist Services In Medicare

Posted by on

As I’d surmised, the WORK component of the RVUs of the top three services provided by psychologists in Medicare (HCPCS 90837, 90834, 90832) will increase from 2024 to 2025. So, in the context of a Conversion Factor (CF) that will be reduced by nearly 3% in 2025 relative to 2024, these services (plus one other) …

Continue reading ‘2025 Estimated Reimbursement Top Ten Psychologist Services In Medicare’ »

Medicare 2025 Fee Schedule Initial Reactions

Posted by on

Well the Final Rule for the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) dropped into my email Friday about 4:40 pm. Of course they announce this on a Friday evening. The headline – which should be no surprise – is that the Conversion Factor (CF) will be decreasing by 2.83% from its 2024 value, to $32.35. …

Continue reading ‘Medicare 2025 Fee Schedule Initial Reactions’ »

2024 “Updated Final” Medicare Fees

Posted by on

As you may have heard, federal legislation taking effect March 9, 2024 for the rest of 2024 included an update to the Medicare Conversion Factor (CF), which will affect reimbursement for Part B services including services provided by psychologists. I previously reported “final” fees that went into effect January 1, based on the CF reported …

Continue reading ‘2024 “Updated Final” Medicare Fees’ »

2024 Final Medicare Fees

Posted by on

Relative Value Units (RVUs) became available 12/12/2023 which, along with the 2024 Conversion Factor (CF), allows calculation of the 2024 National Payment Amount (NPA) for all health care procedures reimbursed in Medicare. Here are the NPAs for the top ten services provided by psychologists, with a comparison to 2020-2023. Four services show increases from 2023-2024. …

Continue reading ‘2024 Final Medicare Fees’ »

2024 Medicare Reimbursement For Psychological Services

Posted by on

2 November 2023:  The final 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) was announced by CMS today, with the final rule to be published in the Federal Register 11/16/23. The final 2024 Conversion Factor (CF) was set at $32.74, a decrease of $1.15 (-3.4%) from the 2023 CF of $33.89. (The proposed rule CF reported in …

Continue reading ‘2024 Medicare Reimbursement For Psychological Services’ »

How Much Do Therapists Charge? – 2023 Update

Posted by on

I first reported about mental health fees in 2013, and then again last year. The following update is based on all charges submitted to Medicare for these services in 2021 by psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers. In theory, charges to patients who have Medicare are likely to be the same as or very similar to …

Continue reading ‘How Much Do Therapists Charge? – 2023 Update’ »

How Much Do Psychologists Charge?

Posted by on

It’s been a while since I reported about this. Given that hospitals and now insurance companies are required to publicly report their charges including cash prices for uninsured consumers and negotiated reimbursement, and especially in the context of current needs for access and care, maybe it’s time for mental health clinicians to increase transparency. What …

Continue reading ‘How Much Do Psychologists Charge?’ »

Price Comparison Summary Behavioral Health Services Madison And Related System Locations

Posted by on

The following are prices listed for the six behavioral health services required to be provided by hospitals in a consumer-friendly “shoppable services” search. Prices were retrieved 15 January 2022 on review of these three hospitals and related locations. Location Service SSMHealth St. Mary’s UnityPoint Health Meriter UW 30 Minute Therapy NF PC $154 45 Minute …

Continue reading ‘Price Comparison Summary Behavioral Health Services Madison And Related System Locations’ »

Hospital Compliance With Federal Price Transparency Requirements: Updated Review of Madison, Wisconsin Hospitals

Posted by on

In August 2021 I reviewed Madison hospitals’ compliance with the Federal “Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule,” which requires hospitals to make their standard charges readily available to the public, in both “consumer-friendly” and “machine-readable” formats. Hospitals have now had an additional five months to come into compliance, and it’s time for an update to see …

Continue reading ‘Hospital Compliance With Federal Price Transparency Requirements: Updated Review of Madison, Wisconsin Hospitals’ »