The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this week announced that hospitals are exempt from provisions in the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) of 2008 that require accreditation for providers of advanced diagnostic imaging services.
MIPPA states that all suppliers of the technical component of advanced imaging services that are paid under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) must become accredited by an accreditation organization designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services by January 1, 2012.
However, in an e-mail sent to providers on December 14, CMS noted that hospitals are excluded from the accreditation requirement. This is because for diagnostic imaging services furnished in a hospital outpatient setting, hospital outpatient departments will bill for the technical component of the procedure and be paid under the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS), not MPFS.
The physician would bill separately for the professional component and be paid under the Physician Fee Schedule for professional service, CMS noted.
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