The American College of Radiology (ACR) has asked three members of the U.S. House of Representatives to have the Government Accountability Office (GAO) study the effects of physician self-referral of advanced medical imaging and radiation therapy treatments on Medicare spending.
The Reston, VA-based organization made its request to Energy and Commerce committee chair Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Ways and Means committee chair Rep. Sandy Levin (D-MI), and Ways and Means health subcommittee chair Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA).
According to the ACR, previous GAO reports have shown that when physicians refer patients to imaging facilities in which they have a financial interest, utilization is significantly increased. The ACR advocates that government regulation address financially driven self-referral, which may not be rectified by quality measures.
"Congress and the regulatory agencies must do so by measures other than across the board reimbursement cuts, which only encourage more self-referral and restrict patient access to quality care by driving those who do not self-refer out of practice or forcing them to limit the number of Medicare patients they receive," the ACR stated.
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