The ACR is in dialogue with
CMS over new regulations
(click to enlarge)
Under a proposed rule released July 2, 2007, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as required by the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula specified in the Medicare statute, would implement a 9.9 percent cut in physician payments in 2008.
The following items included in the proposed rule also directly affect medical imaging providers:
-- Adding certain ophthalmologic imaging procedures to the list of procedures that would be subject to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) provision, that caps payment for the technical component of imaging procedures at the payment amount under the hospital outpatient prospective payment system
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-- Modifying a number of physician self-referral provisions to close loopholes that have made the Medicare program vulnerable to abuse
-- Modifying enrollment standards for Independent Diagnostic Testing Facilities (IDTFs)
Although not specific to medical imaging, the following items included in the proposed rule may also affect ACR members:
-- Updating the Geographic Practice Cost Indices (GPCI) to reflect more recent data
-- Revising certain physician payment localities according to one of three proposed options
The 2008 proposed rule includes: existing quality measures (pay for performance) from the AQA Starter Set, other measures from the National Quality Forum (NQF) Ambulatory measure set, and new quality measures currently being developed with input from American Medical Association (AMA) Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (physician measures), of which ACR is a participant. This rule also proposes to retain the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) measures to the extent that they have been NQF-endorsed.
CMS will accept comments on the proposed rule until August 31, with a final rule to be published later in the fall. The final rule would be effective for services on or after January 1, 2008.
Please visit the ACR Web site at www.acr.org frequently for further updates regarding the proposed 2008 Physician Fee Schedule Rule.
