The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said that all claims from healthcare providers for Medicare fee-for-service program reimbursement will be subject to a 2% reduction, effective April 1.
The payment reduction is the result of the sequestration order mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011, which requires mandatory across-the-board reductions in federal spending. The claims payment adjustment will be applied to all claims after determining coinsurance, any applicable deductible, and any applicable Medicare secondary payment adjustments, according to CMS.
Additionally, although beneficiary payments for deductibles and coinsurance are not subject to the 2% payment reduction, Medicare's payments to beneficiaries for unassigned claims are subject to the 2% reduction, CMS said.
CMS advised in its announcement that any questions about reimbursement be directed to a healthcare provider's Medicare claims administration contractor.
