What is the effect of increasing the conversion factor?

• A. No change
• B. Payment amounts decrease for given RVU totals
• C. Payment amounts increase for given RVU totals
• D. RVU totals are recalculated automatically

Answer: (C)

The conversion factor is the dollar value assigned per RVU, and payments are calculated by multiplying the total RVUs for a service by that conversion factor (before any geographic adjustments). So, when you increase the conversion factor, the dollar amount paid for the same total RVUs goes up. For example, a service with a total of 6 RVUs would be paid at 6 × CF; if CF is $36, that’s $216, and if CF increases to $40, that’s $240. The RVU totals themselves don’t change with the conversion factor, and the conversion factor doesn’t recalculate RVUs—it simply scales the dollar payment.