2010 Medicare fee schedule boosts equipment utilization rate

Article

CMS will increase the equipment utilization rate assumption used to determine the practice expense for all nontherapeutic medical equipment, including diagnostic imaging systems, from 50% to 90% under new Medicare fee schedule rules announced Friday. In a bit of good news for radiology, CMS said it remains on track to require that suppliers of advanced imaging services become accredited by 2012.

CMS will increase the equipment utilization rate assumption used to determine the practice expense for expensive, nontherapeutic medical equipment, including diagnostic imaging systems, from 50% to 90% under new Medicare fee schedule rules announced Friday. In a bit of good news for radiology, CMS said it remains on track to require that suppliers of advanced imaging services become accredited by 2012.

The announced hike of the assumed utilization rate for advanced imaging equipment covered by the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule was not quite as onerous as expected. Although the utilization rate assumption for medical imaging equipment that costs more than $1 million will jump substantially, the new standard will be phased in over a four-year period.

Congress is likely to change this formula. The House reform bill announced this week would increase the assumed utilization rate for advanced imaging equipment to 75%. The Senate Finance Committee bill proposes a 65% utilization rate.

The 2010 Medicare fee schedule rules reflect important gains made by organized radiology in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. In deference to the law, the 2010 fee schedule states that CMS will implement a requirement that suppliers of the technical component of advanced imaging services must become accredited by Jan. 1, 2012.

The accreditation requirement will apply to mobile units, physicians' offices, and independent diagnostic testing facilities that perform diagnostic imaging, but would exempt physicians who interpret it. The rule states that CMS will address suppliers' accountability, business integrity, physician and technologist training, service quality, and performance management in future communications.

Recent Videos
Can AI Assessment of Longitudinal MRI Scans Improve Prediction for Pediatric Glioma Recurrence?
A Closer Look at MRI-Guided Adaptive Radiotherapy for Monitoring and Treating Glioblastomas
Incorporating CT Colonography into Radiology Practice
What New Research Reveals About Computed Tomography and Radiation-Induced Cancer Risk
Can Deep Learning Provide a CT-Less Alternative for Attenuation Compensation with SPECT MPI?
Employing AI in Detecting Subdural Hematomas on Head CTs: An Interview with Jeremy Heit, MD, PhD
Pertinent Insights into the Imaging of Patients with Marfan Syndrome
What New Brain MRI Research Reveals About Cannabis Use and Working Memory Tasks
Radiology Study Finds Increasing Rates of Non-Physician Practitioner Image Interpretation in Office Settings
Addressing the Early Impact of National Breast Density Notification for Mammography Reports
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.