Economics: Page 156

CMS increases Gamma Knife reimbursement

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers

Swedish radiation therapy and oncology device developer Elekta said that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has raised the reimbursement payment for cobalt-60-based stereotactic radiosurgery, which includes Gamma Knife treatment delivery.

January 11, 2006

Impac to release CMS 2006 Quality of Care product

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers

Radiation oncology information systems developer Impac Medical Systems announced plans to release CMS 2006 Quality of Care, an updated product for its oncology electronic medical record (EMR) designed to support the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) 2006 oncology demonstration project.

December 26, 2005

Radiology rises to the occasion for Katrina survivors and victims

While medical professionals in New Orleans tried to hold down the fort during Hurricane Katrina, those stationed in the nearby cities of Gulfport, MS, and Houston were called upon to set up emergency healthcare services. Of course, imaging services were mandatory. AuntMinnie.com spoke with three healthcare specialists who answered the call during those frantic days after the storm hit.

December 26, 2005

Twenty-nine states pay for some diagnostic VC

By Eric Barnes

Slow and steady is winning the race for virtual colonoscopy. As of this month, 29 states have finalized local coverage decisions at the Medicare Carrier Advisory Committee level authorizing VC reimbursement after incomplete colonoscopy. And during the first quarter of 2006, local coverage decisions are pending approval in six more states.

December 22, 2005

ACR to fight proposed Medicare imaging cuts

By Brian Casey

Radiology advocates are planning a last-ditch effort to derail legislation passed in the U.S. Congress this week that would cut billions of dollars in payments for imaging services under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

December 21, 2005

Dual eligibles: Rarely mentioned, critically important

Medicare and Medicaid finance one-third of all U.S. healthcare spending but they have a much larger impact through their regulations and coverage decisions. Dr. Howard Forman, associate editor of health policy for the American Journal of Roentgenology, explores the programs' group of dual eligibles, and how during tight budgetary times this population can affect the rate of uninsured and radiology as well.

December 21, 2005

NEMA takes aim at Medicare imaging payment cuts

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) is calling on the U.S. Senate to reject Medicare imaging reimbursement cuts included in the budget reconciliation passed by the House of Representatives Monday.

December 19, 2005

Chest x-ray CAD reaches reimbursement milestone

By Cynthia E. Keen

Reimbursement is critical for the success of any new imaging technology. Adoption of chest x-ray CAD may have received just that boost following a recent release of an American Medical Association (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code and a subsequent published non-Medicare resource-based relative value scale (RBRVS) code.

November 21, 2005

CMS sets 2007 deadline for nuclear medicine self-referral

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers

In a nod to marketplace realities, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has set an effective date of 2007 for a regulatory change prohibiting the self-referral of patients in diagnostic nuclear medicine and therapeutic nuclear medicine.

November 6, 2005

CMS delays, reduces proposed Medicare imaging cuts

By Tracie L. Thompson

The U.S. government's proposal to cut Medicare technical reimbursement for contiguous imaging in both the hospital outpatient and physician office settings has been scaled back or delayed, with the American College of Radiology (ACR) taking credit for the turnabout.

November 3, 2005

Revamping residency hours could carry a significant price tag

By Shalmali Pal

In 2003 the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) limited residents to an 80-hour work week to address multiple issues, such as the reduction of medical errors. But what degree of decline in adverse events would be needed to make reform less of a financial burden on hospitals and society? Researchers from California sought the answer by performing a cost analysis using four possible reform strategies.

October 26, 2005

Is tax reform a solution to the uninsured crisis in America?

Tax reform is seemingly unrelated to the issues of health insurance and the uninsured in America, but it is important to recognize how the U.S. tax code shapes the current healthcare system. Dr. Howard Forman, associate editor of health policy for the American Journal of Roentgenology, discusses how tax reform may offer an opportunity for real improvements in the U.S. healthcare system.

October 19, 2005

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