Diagnostic Imaging Associates billed CMS for both service components, but the hospital was ineligible for reimbursement, the DOJ said.

Delays in determinations were "harming members’ practices" by holding up payments for services, the ACR said. 

The DOJ first filed suit more than a year ago, arguing the $8B, all-cash deal would stifle competition in the claims-processing and health insurance marketplaces. 

“My takeaway: Commercial negotiated price reflects hospitals’ market power,” the JAMA study's author told Radiology Business. 

Meanwhile, the commission called such agreements an “exploitative practice that suppresses wages, hampers innovation, and blocks entrepreneurs from starting new businesses."

The results suggest an association between patient worry and abnormal results, signifying an opportunity for providers to tailor their communication strategy. 

The American College of Radiology Association announced the news Friday, with the money coming from its special fund established in 2021. 

“Many private practice physicians and providers that I know are operating on smaller and smaller margins due to cuts in reimbursements," said radiologist Andrew Kayes, MD.