CMS Clarifies “Incident-To” Billing Rules: Billing Physician Must Supervise Incident-To Services
November 16, 2015
Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) included proposed revisions to the ever-confusing “incident-to” billing rules in its 2016 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule. This attempt to provide clarification only further muddied the waters, leading many healthcare stakeholders to believe that the “clarification” represented a significant change in policy that would require the physician supervising the incident-to services to be the same physician ordering and treating the patient. Good news! The Final Rule published in the Federal Register on November 16, 2015, relieved the confusion and concern. Most healthcare stakeholders will see no change in how they bill Medicare in accordance with the incident-to rules.
