Medicare fee schedule proposal could force nonrads to close office-based imaging services

July 3, 2008 Medicare fee schedule proposal could force nonrads to close office-based imaging services H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proposed rules announced June 30 for the 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule feature provisions that could both hinder and help radiologists who perform outpatient imaging practices. The proposal, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, asks for a 5.4% cut in physician payments, but it also raises the possibility of harsh regulations to make it harder for nonradiologists to provide office-based imaging services. "It could strike a blow to self-referral," said Thomas W. Greeson, J.D., a partner in the law firm of Reed Smith LLP in Falls Church, VA.

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