MedPAC Issues Recommendations on the Use of Diagnostic Services
This post was written by Paul Pitts.
On April 7, 2011, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) approved new recommendations to Congress regarding Medicare payment for imaging and other diagnostic tests. The recommendations reflect a shift in MedPAC’s policies from advocating for tighter controls on physician in-office services to addressing what MedPAC views as inaccuracies in payment and inappropriate use of diagnostic imaging. MedPAC approved the following recommendations: (1) the Secretary should accelerate and expand efforts to package discrete services in the physician fee schedule into larger units for payment; (2) the Congress should direct the Secretary to apply a multiple procedure payment reduction to the professional component of diagnostic imaging services provided by the same practitioner in the same session; (3) the Congress should direct the Secretary to reduce the physician work component of imaging and other diagnostic tests that are ordered and performed by the same practitioner; and (4) the Congress should direct the Secretary to establish a prior authorization program for practitioners who order substantially more advanced diagnostic imaging services than their peers. The recommendations will appear in MedPAC’s June report to Congress.
