Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS)
This evening, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the 2024 MPFS proposed rule, with policy changes that would reduce payments for radiation oncology services by approximately -2% next year. The proposed Conversion Factor (CF) for 2024 would be $32.7476, which is a 3.4% reduction from 2023’s final CF of $33.8872. CY 2024 marks the third year of the four-year phase in of the Clinical Labor Price update, which lowers payments to specialties that use expensive equipment, such as radiation oncology, in a budget neutral environment. Contact Congress today to support ASTRO-backed legislation to mitigate the clinical labor cuts.

These continued cuts underscore the need for ASTRO’s proposed Radiation Oncology Case Rate (ROCR) Program, which would secure stable payment rates, improve upon already excellent quality and reduce disparities.

Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS)
CMS also released the 2024 HOPPS proposed rule. The Agency is proposing to increase the HOPPS payment rates by a factor of 2.8%. Based on this update, CMS estimates the total payments to HOPPS providers for 2024 would be approximately $88.6 billion — an increase of about $6 billion over 2023. ASTRO will provide members with a summary and detailed analysis of the proposals in coming days and will submit comments to the Agency later this summer.