January 9, 2008

We are pleased to announce the national average CF is $19.96, up $3.87 from $16.09 in 2007. The latest anesthesia conversionfactors (CFs) for all 91 Medicare localities are available below.

This 24 percent increase reflects the hard-won 32 percent jump in the valuation of anesthesia "work" in the Medicare Fee Schedule, and also the elimination—for now—of the 10.1 percent cut for which ASA, the AMA and other medical societies successfully lobbied last year. We say "for now" because unless Congress adopts further legislation, the 10.1 percent cut will be reinstated on July 1, 2008.

Please be sure to contact your Senators and Representatives in Congress to tell them to obliterate, once and for all, the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula that has driven so many programmed decreases and so many Congressional rescues, and all the confusion that has resulted.