The annual update to CMS's physician payment rate is a positive instead of a negative as was originally planned for 2003. On February 26, CMS announced an average increase of 1.6% for fees to physicians treating Medicare patients effective March 1, 2003. The agency was scheduled to decrease the payment rate to physicians by an average of 4.4% based on erroneous projections made several years ago regarding Medicare enrollment and economic growth. Recently enacted federal appropriations legislation, however, allowed CMS to revise the conversion factor used to calculate physician payment rates for 2003 and future years. The physician fee schedule conversion factor for March 1 to December 31, 2003 will be $36.7856. Due to these changes, the enrollment period for physicians to participate in the Medicare program was extended to April 14, 2003. The rule appears in the February 28, 2003 Federal Register.

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