Imaging has been through a long legislative and regulatory grind since the first big blow was struck with the DRA, and there is little to indicate that much will change on that front in 2013, according to Ted Burnes, MPA, director of RADPAC, the political-action committee of the ACR®. With Maurine Dennis, MPH, MBA, a consultant for the RBMA, Burnes copresented “Radiology Economics and RADPAC Update” on May 22, 2013, at the RBMA Radiology Summit in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

As we previously reported,¹ last fall, CMS published its supposedly final guidance² on place-of-service requirements for the professional and technical components of diagnostic tests. Transmittal 2563 (later replaced by Transmittals 2613 and 2679) revised the instructions contained in chapter 13 of the CMS manual system for Medicare claims processing. The most recent transmittal became effective on April 1, 2013. On April 25, CMS issued a frequently asked question (FAQ)3 set to respond to additional concerns about the place-of-service instructions. Among other clarifications in the FAQ list, CMS reported that it will be developing a national enrollment policy for telehealth and telemedicine services.

My initial reaction was to flinch and move on, like a punch-drunk fighter, when I heard about the 90% assumed equipment-utilization rate in the omnibus bill intended to avert the fiscal cliff. Instead, I bear witness to the latest in a series of cuts to the technical and professional components of radiology reimbursement.

Idle hands are said to be the devil’s workshop; in 2012, government regulators proved the same to be true of hands that are busy, as evidenced by the new and modified rules that they churned out to address perceived problems in the delivery of radiology services. Many of these rules—brought forth by DHHS agencies—were unhelpful to radiology practices striving to keep their heads above water. In fairness, though, one or two rules were of the opposite character.

An article by Milliman actuaries¹ in the April 2012 issue of Health Affairs details an interesting accounting exercise that is likely to cause private insurers to take notice. Using a method employed to evaluate new insurance features, the researchers created an actuarial model designed to estimate the cost (and cost benefit) of lung-cancer