The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the 2018 Medicare DMEPOS fee schedule which will be effective for Medicare claims with a date of service on or after January 1, 2018. The 2018 Medicare fee schedule for orthotic and prosthetic services will be increased by 1.1% over 2017 rates. The 1.1% increase is a net reflection of the 1.6% increase in the Consumer Pricing Index for Urban Areas (CPI-U) from June 2016 through June 2017, combined with the annual Multi-Factor Productivity Adjustment (MFP) of -0.5%.
The 1.1% increase in the O&P Medicare fee schedule for 2018 represents a 0.4% larger amount than the 2017 increase of 0.7%. Unfortunately, the 2% sequestration based reduction to all Medicare payments remains in effect (currently through 2025) meaning that Medicare fee for service payments will continue to be reduced by 2% due to sequestration. While sequestration continues to impact Medicare reimbursement, it is not cumulative. You will still receive 1.1% more for a service you provide in 2018 then you did in 2017 since the 2% sequestration reduction would be applied to both claims.
Download the complete 2018 Medicare DMEPOS fee schedule from the CMS website.
As always, AOPA maintains the most current Medicare fee schedule information and will be happy to provide it to AOPA members.
Questions regarding the 2018 Medicare fee schedule may be directed to Joe McTernan at jmcternan@aopanet.org or Devon Bernard at dbernard@aopanet.org.