{"abstract":"This final rule with comment period addresses certain provisions of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, as well as making other proposed changes to Medicare Part B payment policy. We are making these changes to ensure that our payment systems are updated to reflect changes in medical practice and the relative value of services. This final rule with comment period also discusses refinements to resource-based practice expense (PE) relative value units (RVUs); geographic practice cost indices (GPCI) changes; malpractice RVUs; requests for additions to the list of telehealth services; several coding issues including additional codes from the 5-Year Review; payment for covered outpatient drugs and biologicals; the competitive acquisition program (CAP); clinical lab fee schedule issues; payment for renal dialysis services; performance standards for independent diagnostic testing facilities; expiration of the physician scarcity area (PSA) bonus payment; conforming and clarifying changes for comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities (CORFs); a process for updating the drug compendia; physician self referral issues; beneficiary signature for ambulance transport services; durable medical equipment (DME) update; the chiropractic services demonstration; a Medicare economic index (MEI) data change; technical corrections; standards and requirements related to therapy services under Medicare Parts A and B; revisions to the ambulance fee schedule; the ambulance inflation factor for CY 2008; and amending the e-prescribing exemption for computer-generated facsimile transmissions. We are also finalizing the calendar year (CY) 2007 interim RVUs and are issuing interim RVUs for new and revised procedure codes for CY 2008. As required by the statute, we are announcing that the physician fee schedule update for CY 2008 is -10.1 percent, the initial estimate for the sustainable growth rate for CY 2008 is -0.1 percent, and the conversion factor (CF) for CY 2008 is $34.0682.","action":"Final rule with comment period.","agencies":[{"raw_name":"DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES","name":"Health and Human Services Department","id":221,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/health-and-human-services-department","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/221","parent_id":null,"slug":"health-and-human-services-department"},{"raw_name":"Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","name":"Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services","id":45,"url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/centers-for-medicare-medicaid-services","json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies/45","parent_id":221,"slug":"centers-for-medicare-medicaid-services"}],"body_html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2007/11/27/07-5506.html","cfr_references":[{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":409,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":410,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":411,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":413,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":414,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":415,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":418,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":423,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":424,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":482,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":484,"title":42},{"chapter":null,"citation_url":null,"part":485,"title":42}],"citation":"72 FR 66222","comment_url":null,"comments_close_on":null,"correction_of":null,"corrections":[],"dates":"Effective Date: The provisions of this final rule with comment period are effective January 1, 2008, except for the amendments to Sec. 409.17 and Sec. 409.23 which are effective July 1, 2008, and the amendments to Sec. 423.160 which is effective January 1, 2009.","disposition_notes":null,"docket_ids":["CMS-1385-FC"],"dockets":[],"document_number":"07-5506","effective_on":null,"end_page":66578,"executive_order_notes":null,"executive_order_number":null,"full_text_xml_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/xml/2007/11/27/07-5506.xml","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2007/11/27/07-5506/medicare-program-revisions-to-payment-policies-under-the-physician-fee-schedule-and-other-part-b","images":{"ER27NO07.000":{"large":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.000/ER27NO07.000_large.png","medium":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.000/ER27NO07.000_medium.png","original_size":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.000/ER27NO07.000_original_size.png"},"ER27NO07.001":{"large":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.001/ER27NO07.001_large.png","medium":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.001/ER27NO07.001_medium.png","original_size":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.001/ER27NO07.001_original_size.png"}},"images_metadata":{"ER27NO07.000":{"large":{"identifier":"ER27NO07.000","content_type":"image/png","size":5071,"width":733,"sha":"2052c9c8d381dfddbd1febfedc4a9aca","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.000/ER27NO07.000_large.png","height":70},"medium":{"identifier":"ER27NO07.000","content_type":"image/png","size":1876,"width":345,"sha":"b0f08d6e44e4f414d7a903b4c165b78c","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.000/ER27NO07.000_medium.png","height":33},"original_size":{"identifier":"ER27NO07.000","content_type":"image/png","size":1317,"width":314,"sha":"7619315430a6ad21d051c7ac9a9e7618","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.000/ER27NO07.000_original_size.png","height":30}},"ER27NO07.001":{"large":{"identifier":"ER27NO07.001","content_type":"image/png","size":4474,"width":546,"sha":"4f5717ff2361ec2da089a38f71286d7c","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.001/ER27NO07.001_large.png","height":66},"medium":{"identifier":"ER27NO07.001","content_type":"image/png","size":1578,"width":257,"sha":"ce6cab7099c6f48204369f4eaf827458","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.001/ER27NO07.001_medium.png","height":31},"original_size":{"identifier":"ER27NO07.001","content_type":"image/png","size":1019,"width":233,"sha":"599142729c6a54b5afcac2761c9c08e4","url":"https://img.federalregister.gov/ER27NO07.001/ER27NO07.001_original_size.png","height":28}}},"json_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents/07-5506?publication_date=2007-11-27","mods_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/metadata/granule/FR-2007-11-27/07-5506/mods.xml","not_received_for_publication":null,"page_length":357,"page_views":{"count":5408,"last_updated":"2026-07-25 22:15:03 -0400"},"pdf_url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2007-11-27/pdf/07-5506.pdf","presidential_document_number":null,"proclamation_number":null,"public_inspection_pdf_url":null,"publication_date":"2007-11-27","raw_text_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/text/2007/11/27/07-5506.txt","regulation_id_number_info":{"0938-AO65":{"issue":"200710","html_url":"https://www.federalregister.gov/regulations/0938-AO65/revisions-to-payment-policies-under-the-physician-fee-schedule-and-other-part-b-payment-policies-cy-","title":"Revisions to Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule, and Other Part B Payment Policies CY 2008; Revisions to the Payment Policies of Ambulance Fee Schedule CY 2008","xml_url":"http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=200710&RIN=0938-AO65&operation=OPERATION_EXPORT_XML","priority_category":"Economically Significant"}},"regulation_id_numbers":["0938-AO65"],"regulations_dot_gov_info":{"checked_regulationsdotgov_at":"2011-11-13T10:05:37Z"},"regulations_dot_gov_url":null,"significant":true,"signing_date":null,"start_page":66222,"subtype":null,"title":"Medicare Program; Revisions to Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule, and Other Part B Payment Policies for CY 2008; Revisions to the Payment Policies of Ambulance Services Under the Ambulance Fee Schedule for CY 2008; and the Amendment of the E-Prescribing Exemption for Computer Generated Facsimile Transmissions","toc_doc":"Physician fee schedule and other Part B payment policies for CY 2008; payment policy revisions","toc_subject":"Medicare:","topics":["Administrative practice and procedure","Emergency medical services","Grant programs-health","Health facilities","Health maintenance organizations (HMO)","Health professions","Health records","Hospice care","Hospitals","Kidney diseases","Laboratories","Medicaid","Medicare","Nursing homes","Nutrition","Penalties","Privacy","Reporting and recordkeeping requirements","Rural areas","Safety","X-rays"],"type":"Rule","volume":72}