Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies. 

Medicare money payment

Medicare to boost payment for certain diagnostic imaging agents

CMS is moving forward with a proposal to issue separate reimbursement for radiopharmaceuticals—a change long lobbied for by the imaging industry. 

dollar money graph increase finance

Medicare to more than double reimbursement for CCTA, likely spurring greater demand

Beginning Jan. 1, CMS will up the rate for cardiac computed tomography angiography from $175 to $357.13, "encouraging broader use for better patient outcomes.” 

‘A huge win’: CMS significantly increases Medicare payments for cardiac CT

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

Medicare

Medicare issues final 2025 physician fee schedule with 2.83% conversion factor cut

“Despite rising practice costs, CMS continues to cut physician reimbursement, denying the reality of the burdens under which our healthcare system operates," SIR said Friday. 

Thumbnail

Lawmakers introduce radiologist-endorsed, bipartisan bill to halt Medicare cuts

Greg Murphy, MD, R-N.C., and colleagues are proposing the Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization Act, which would halt a 2.8% reduction to the conversion factor.  

physician tracking patient data and reporting on outcomes

American College of Radiology updates imaging appropriateness criteria with 8 new topics

ACR is adding new entries covering scenarios such as brain tumors, inflammatory ear disease, and lung cancer staging after therapy. 

BioZorb 3D bioabsorbable marker Hologic

FDA warns against use of Hologic breast care device after nearly 200 adverse events

The alert pertains to the BioZorb and BioZorb LP markers, implanted in soft tissue to indicate the site for radiographic procedures. 

The rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has helped cardiologists, radiologists, nurses and other healthcare providers embrace precision medicine in a way that ensures more heart patients are receiving personalized care.

5 of 7 Medicare Administrative Contractors approve payment for imaging AI software

Providers have the potential to earn a Medicare payment of $950 if the software is deployed in medically appropriate scenarios.  

Around the web

The ACR hopes these changes, including the addition of diagnostic performance feedback, will help reduce the number of patients with incidental nodules lost to follow-up each year.

And it can do so with almost 100% accuracy as a first reader, according to a new large-scale analysis.

The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.