AHRA: 2018 Medicare physician fee schedule will minimally impact radiologists
CMS released the 2018 Final Medicare Physician Fee Schedule on Nov. 2, which will address changes to the Medicare physician fee schedule and other Medicare policies, has good news for radiology practitioners and providers.
According to a recent AHRA press release, the Final Rule will officially be published in the Nov. 15 register, though radiology professionals can currently review the unofficial version. According to the AHRA, the estimated impacts on radiology are not significant:
- Radiology, interventional radiology and nuclear medicine are expected to have no change.
- Radiation oncology and radiation therapy may see an overall impact of a 1 percent increase.
- Independent diagnostic testing facilities are expected to have a 4 percent decrease.
Additional radiology sectors covered in the Final Rule include new "FY" modifier mandated for the technical component of computed radiography technology, mammography with CAD, Stark Law annual updates to list of CPT/HCPSS codes, off-campus provider-based hospital departments paid under the MPFS, and appropriate use criteria for advance imaging.
Read the entire press release here.
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.