

- #Medicare ct scan reimbursement full#
- #Medicare ct scan reimbursement Pc#
- #Medicare ct scan reimbursement professional#
Thus, we did not explore payments received.
#Medicare ct scan reimbursement Pc#
We sought to determine the theoretic increase in revenue that could be expected through the change in MPPR for PC reimbursement. We based the calculations on Medicare reimbursement rates, not actual payments. Per CMS guidelines, procedures with the highest price were considered fully reimbursed and subsequent studies were marked for further calculations, either a 25% reduction (2013–2016) or a 5% (2017) reduction. 8, 9 We categorized CPT codes into 4 different groups of imaging: neuroradiologic, body, musculoskeletal, and breast. 8, 9 TC and PC facility prices for selected imaging, for our local and national area, were extracted using modifier 26. The Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System CPT codes were extracted from the CMS Web site, and the diagnostic imaging family indicator 88 (subject to the reduction of the TC diagnostic imaging ) was used to retrieve procedures for which MPPR would apply. Patients with a single imaging and patients holding health insurance other than Medicare were excluded. Patients with Medicare insurance who had multiple diagnostic procedures in a day were selected for analysis. The CPT codes of the procedures performed by the department of radiology at our institution between January 1, 2017, and May 31, 2017, were retrieved via our radiology billing service. Because our emergency department physicians often request imaging of multiple body parts for trauma and our oncologic practice uses chest, abdomen, and pelvic CT scanning to screen for and follow cancers, we hypothesized that we would see a large increase in revenue from the CMS decision. To evaluate the effect of this change, we analyzed the impact during 5 months of activity at Johns Hopkins Medical Institution (January to May 2017).
#Medicare ct scan reimbursement full#
7 So, in the above instance, the brain CT and pelvic sonography PC would be paid at 95% of the full allowed reimbursement. 4, 6 As of January 1, 2017, the MPPR was changed to a 95% level of reimbursement for subsequent multiple body part imaging. In 2016, the CMS was convinced to roll back the MPPR for the PC under growing pressure from the ACR, ASNR, and the American Medical Association after receiving extensive data supplied by these organizations.

This change had a large impact on neuroradiology, given the following frequent studies: 1) brain and spine CT studies in the emergency department for trauma, 2) brain and spine MRIs for multiple sclerosis, 3) CT/CTA and MR/MRA studies for strokes and aneurysms, and 4) screening cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine studies in patients with cancer for cord compression and subarachnoid seeding. 4 In practice, this meant that if a patient underwent >1 imaging study on a single day, the highest priced procedure was reimbursed fully (100%), but any subsequent same-day imaging studies would be paid at 75% of the original amount allocated by the CMS Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for PC.įor example, if a patient had a brain CT, an ultrasound of the pelvis, and a cardiac MR imaging on the same day within a radiology group and 3 different radiologists reported each of those studies at 3 different office locations, Medicare would reimburse the PC of the highest priced procedure (cardiac MR imaging) fully and would only reimburse the brain CT and pelvic sonography at 75% of the full price of the subsequent studies from 2013 to 2016.

2, 3 While initially this applied to multiple diagnostic imaging services administered by the same physician to the same patient during a single office visit, it was further expanded in 2013 to include all physicians practicing in the same group, irrespective of the practice setting.
#Medicare ct scan reimbursement professional#
1 Despite opposition by radiologist groups, including the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR), CMS imposed a 25% reduction in the professional component (PC) of multiple studies as part of the 2011 MPPR, which went into effect on January 1, 2012. This reduction started out at 25% and applied to contiguous body parts, but in 2011, the TC MPPR was increased to 50% and became applicable to noncontiguous body parts. The TC of a service covers the cost of equipment, supplies, and nonphysician personnel. Initially, only the technical component (TC) of the service fee was subject to MPPR. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) imposed the multiple procedure payment reduction (MPPR) for certain advanced diagnostic imaging modalities (CT, MR imaging, and ultrasound ) in 2006 based on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommendation.
