Last week, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) released its June report. Not good, folks.

The report includes four recommendations related to the provision of imaging services in Medicare.  Most troubling is the last recommendation, which encourages the creation of a prior authorization program for practitioners who order substantially more advanced diagnostic imaging services than their peers. The ACC strongly opposes prior authorization because requiring prior authorization would increase the administrative burden on Medicare, increase physician practice costs and could interfere with the physician-patient relationship, potentially delaying timely access to life-saving procedures. The ACC continues to believe that the adoption of decision-support tools based on appropriate use criteria is a better option than prior authorization.

 

MedPAC recommendations are non-binding but, in a Congress that is very concerned with spending cuts, these recommendations could easily be picked up for potential enactment.  In addition, these recommendations could also be picked up by CMS without further Congressional action. CardioSource has more  on the report’s other recommendations.

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