2006 physician payment conversion factor same as 2005’s

From Part B News (www.partbnews.com):

Part B News has learned Medicare’s 2006 conversion factor will match 2005’s exactly: $37.8975.

President Bush on Wednesday signed the Deficit Reduction Act, which froze your payments at the 2005 level, erasing the 4.5% conversion factor cut that had been in place since Jan 1. CMS says it will automatically reprocess claims you submitted since Jan. 1 and you can expect checks to come in batches, not just one big  payment.