Medicare cuts threaten small imaging facilities

Cuts built into the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule will imperil community-based imaging facilities, ultimately restricting availability of advanced imaging techniques to large hospitals, according to American College of Radiology. If this happens, patients will face longer commutes and wait times to receive care, causing life threatening delays in diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other serious illnesses, according to the ACR.  At issue is a change in the imaging equipment utilization rate assumption from the current 50% rate to 90%, effectively cutting reimbursement by some 44%. CMS will also implement new practice expense data collected through the Physician Practice Information Survey (PPIS) further decreasing reimbursement to CT and MRI scans.