OBGYN Underpayments in H1 2026: How Much Revenue Did Your Group Leave on the Table?

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For many OB/GYN groups, the biggest financial threat in the first half of 2026 was not claim denials—it was underpayments. Claims were approved, payments were posted, and revenue appeared to arrive normally. Yet a significant percentage of those payments may have been lower than the contracted amount, leaving thousands of dollars unrecovered. Underpayments are particularly dangerous because they often go unnoticed. Unlike denied claims, they do not create an obvious work queue. Unless payments are compared against payer contracts and expected reimbursement schedules, practices may never realize revenue has been lost. As commercial payers, Medicare Advantage plans, and managed care organizations increased reimbursement scrutiny during H1 2026, many OBGYN groups experienced growing variance between expected and actual payments. This is why more providers are investing in specialized OBGYN billing services,  comprehensive medical billing services , advanced RCM services , and proactiv...

Expanding Medicare Telehealth Use after PHE

 

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CY 2023 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule

On 7th July 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that announces and solicits public comments on proposed policy changes for Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS), and other Medicare Part B issues, effective on or after January 1, 2023. This calendar year (CY) 2023 PFS proposed a rule that made lots of provisions including expanding Medicare telehealth use even after the end of a public health emergency (PHE).

Expanding Medicare Telehealth Use after PHE

For the calendar year 2023, CMS is proposing a number of policies related to Medicare telehealth services including making several services that are temporarily available as telehealth services for the PHE available through CY 2023 on a Category III basis, which will allow more time for collection of data that could support their eventual inclusion as permanent additions to the Medicare telehealth services list. CMS is proposing to extend the duration of time that services are temporarily included on the telehealth services list during the PHE, but are not included on a Category I, II, or III bases for a period of 151 days following the end of the PHE, in alignment with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (CAA, 2022).

CMS is proposing to implement the telehealth provisions in the CAA, 2022 via program instruction or other sub-regulatory guidance to ensure a smooth transition after the end of the PHE. These policies extend certain flexibilities in place during the PHE for 151 days after the PHE ends, such as 

  • allowing telehealth services to be furnished in any geographic area and in any originating site setting, including the beneficiary’s home, 
  • allowing certain services to be furnished via audio-only telecommunications systems, and 
  • allowing physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists to furnish telehealth services. 

To learn more about Expanding Medicare Telehealth Use after PHE, click here: https://bit.ly/46fYgsF Contact us at info@medicalbillersandcoders.com888-357-3226.

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