The Industrial-strength Imaging Executive
by Curtis Kauffman-Pickelle
Today’s medical-imaging profession is definitely not for the fragile and weak-kneed among our colleagues. It is becoming increasingly clear that navigating the constant changes and challenges that face the practice of radiology today will be the ultimate test of tenacity, perseverance, and creativity. We’re in the playoffs now, and the game is moving to the big-time arena—where the margin for error is nil.
Finger in the Wind
by Cheryl Proval
Physicians are in a real bind as fee-for-service reimbursement falls under attack and alternative payment methods (such as bundling and capitation) gain traction in Washington, DC. As of June 18, Medicare Part B claims were being processed with the 21.3% cut mandated by the sustainable growth rate’s formula, and House Democrats demanded legislation on jobs before they would pass the Senate bill to reverse the cut.
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Save the Date:
July 20, 2010 11am ESTTopic
Keep Your Hospital Relationships Healthy: Strategies for Every Practice
Presenters:
Randy Roat, CHBME, VP of Radiology, MMP, and George Ehrhardt, CPA, Director, Practice Management, MMP
Medical Management Professionals, Inc.
Topic
RIS to the Rescue | Strategies for Driving Revenue, Productivity and Profitability
Sectra
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Advanced Visualization | Next-generation Architectures
Visage Imaging
The SGR Fix Passes With a 2.2% Update
The familiar, contentious debate surrounding Medicare’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula came to a temporary close on June 24, when the House of Representatives, by passing HR 3962, finally agreed to a Senate plan to put off a 21.3% decrease in payment rates.
A Call to Action
Any reader of Radiology Business Journal knows that the complexity and intensity of managing a radiology practice are increasing exponentially.
ARRA Update: Opportunities and Risks for Health IT
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
Regulatory Report: Gains Made in Campaign to Limit Self-referral
Organized radiology has been devoted to the self-referral issue for more than a decade.
Time to Unwind, and Other Effects of the 2009 MPFS
Few federal rules for billing and leasing of diagnostic testing equipment and technicians by mobile testing companies will require the restructuring or unwinding of many imaging arrangements prior to the end of 2008.
Contest of the Implausibles
In an often-hilarious talk at the Beyond Conference in Washington, DC, on July 24, 2008.
Caution Ahead: Keep Your Eyes on the Road
The imaging industry was able to beat back more than a billion dollars’ worth of cuts in Medicare in a bill that President Bush signed into law on December 30, 2007.
Washington’s Low-Hanging Fruit: Diagnostic Imaging
In the world of Washington politics, health care and health care policy are high stakes and high profile.
Letter-Trafficking and Self-Referral in Massachusetts
As in many states, Massachusetts policy makers are examining the impact that ambulatory surgical centers and medical diagnostic imaging services, particularly physician owned, are having on the health care delivery system.
Do Proposed MPFS Changes Portend the Demise of Block Leases?
Although block-leasing arrangements have become increasingly marginalized given recent Board of Medical Examiner decisions and a spate of high profile whistleblower cases, such arrangements clearly remain a target for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Legislative Report: Maryland Radiologists Defends State’s Anti-Self Referral Law
In 1993, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation to prohibit self-referrals by physicians for three types of imaging services to patients.
Legislative Report: CMS Transmittal Rocks IDTF World
Just as imaging center operators thought they had a handle on the inhospitable reimbursment and regulatory environment for 2007.
NCQDIS: Now More than Ever
Those of us in the industry recognize that imaging is a fast-growing alternative to invasive procedures. New technology, an aging population, and declining costs of equipment are leading to more imaging procedures being performed each year.
Legislative Watch: AMIC Perseveres in Battling Imaging Cuts
Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC) was organized in early 2006, soon after Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 which significantly reduced the level of funding for medical imaging services provided in independent imaging facilities and physician offices.
Washington Report: Health Care Back on the Table
As the new Congress begins a shift toward a more domestic policy-dominated agenda, health care issues are expected to receive substantial attention.
Washington Update: Physicians, 1, Imaging Centers, 0
Physicians received yet another reprieve when the Senate’s final act before adjourning was to pass a broad tax and trade bill, 79-to-9, that contained the hope-for fix of the scheduled 5.1 percent cut in physician reimbursement.
Is Time Running Out?
In a typical year, more than 10,000 bills and resolutions are introduced in Congress and fewer than 5% of these actually become law.
Imaging’s Long Hot Summer Begins…
There are impressive signs that outpatient imaging is beginning to coalesce in a real sense, moving from its initial stunned reaction to the DRA to a planned and coordinated sense of urgency that is reflective of a grown-up industry.
Buying Time: Chances for DRA Reversal Grow Slim, but Moratorium Might Fly
Those hoping for a repeal of cuts to diagnostic imaging contained in the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) may have to drastically lower their expectations for 2006 was the word coming out of both the American College of Radiology (ACR) Annual Meeting and Chapter Leadership Conference.
Lobbying Against DRA Scores Victories but Battle is Far From Over
Grassroots lobbying can at times seem more frustrating than helpful.
States Pick Up Anti-Self Referral Cause
Is anti-self referral legislation too controversial for 2006?
Organized Radiology Plots Washington Course
The diagnostic imaging industry’s lobbying priority for 2006 is clear, say representative of industry associations and imaging center owners.
Be Careful What You Ask For
As the dust begins to settle on the legislative action that has imaging center owners in various states of confusion, angst, and anger, it is clear that no one saw this particular train wreck coming.
Congress Slashes Billions from Imaging Fees; Centers Plan for Cuts in Staff, Service, Acces
WASHINGTON, DC — When the House narrowly approved the Senate version of the 2006 Federal budget on February 1.
Congress Blindsides Radiology, Votes to Cap PFS Technical Reimbursement at HOPPS Rates
WASHINGTON, DC — Taking the imaging world by complete surprise, the Senate voted with the House on Wednesday, December 21.
