Following the passage of legislation averting the cumulative 10% payment cuts anticipated for 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced a revised final conversion factor that will take effect January 1, 2022. The new conversion factor will be $34.6062, a decrease of approximately $0.29 or 0.83% from the 2021 conversion factor of $34.8931. The AAPM&R website has been updated to include this new information. Additionally, we have updated the chart of final RVUs and national payment rates for services effective January 1, 2022. The chart is available for members to download now.
While we are relieved that the conversion factor decrease was reduced significantly from the anticipated 10% cut originally expected, the legislation required to avert the payment cut was simply a temporary fix. AAPM&R will be advocating early and throughout 2022 to urge Congress to identity a permanent solution to the payment cuts physician have been facing each year in recent history.