Later dates on the Calendar of Doom provide additional reasons for making this decision. These include compliance deadlines after which your Medicare payments will be cut. If you aren’t compliant with ICD-10 by Oct 1, 2013, your claims simply will not be paid at all.
You may be fined for not meeting the e-prescribing deadline even if you filed for an exemption on time, owing to the inability of CMS to process the huge number of applications in time, explains TMA president Bruce Malone.
If you simply want to change from “participating” to “nonparticipating,” you have until Dec 31. Nonparticipating physicians may opt out at any time. The AMA and TMA provide information solely related to the financial consequences, including a “revenue calculator.” If you are doing it in the hope of plugging the gap after the next SGR cut happens, remember that you may bill for about 9% more than participating physicians, but will not be eligible for a retroactive “fix” if Congress restores cuts later.
Sample letters to patients from the AMA are available, but they are all about money. Some sample letters from AAPS members, emphasizing their desire to serve their patients better, are at: http://www.aapsonline.org/members/optout/optoutmemb.htm .
The AAPS guide on opting out of Medicare is the top-ranked page on this topic on Google.
More recently, the potential “fourth option” of Medicare disenrollment has been suggested as a way that might allow patients to claim their Medicare benefits even if their doctor forgoes Medicare payment. It is discussed in the summer 2010 issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons and in a 2011 proposal to the California Medical Association. Before considering this action, review the further information in the forthcoming winter 2011 issue of the Journal, and consult with your attorney.
As Dr. Jaime Durand of Texas points out, the message of the TMA seems to be “stay on your toes or die.” But doctors can’t keep walking on their toes forever.
Join us and your colleagues, January 20th, 2012 in Las Vegas for the 15th Thrive, Not Just Survive – Building a Healthy, Independent Practice Workshop. More information at http://www.aapsonline.org/lasvegas.
