Physician Scarcity Areas
CMS 5% Bonus Payments To Qualified Areas
Medicare is revising the processes for paying HPSA bonuses and will be implementing the provision of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) that authorizes bonus payments for physician services in PSAs.
These proposed policies apply to relevant services provided in HPSAs or PSAs on or after January 1, 2005.
Affected physicians should make sure that their billing staffs are aware of the pending HPSA and PSA bonus payment policy changes and are prepared to bill Medicare in accordance with the final rule, when published, to receive the correct bonus payments for services rendered on or after January 1, 2005.
Understanding the areas that qualify for the bonus payments, knowing when to use related modifiers, and knowing what information is available from your Medicare carrier are all essential to submitting correct claims. This Medlearn Matters article provides an overview of these requirements.
Maps:
- PSA Primary Care Areas
- PSA Specialty Care Areas
- Zip Codes for Primary Care Areas
- Zip Codes for Specialty Care Areas
More information is available at the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare bonus payment web page.
