The American College of Radiology (ACR) is urging the radiology community and other medical professionals to help the ACR get rid of $112 million in cuts to Medicare ultrasound reimbursement.
The college is requesting invoices that reflect the actual cost to purchase ultrasound equipment, according to a recent ACR news release.
The urgency comes after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) inaccurately updated direct practice expense inputs for equipment and supply pricing for ultrasound and vascular ultrasound rooms, according to the release.
The ACR and allies have already asked CMS to delay the cuts, which were originally supposed to go into effect on Jan. 1. However, the cuts could go into effect as early as next year if the ACR and allies are not able provide CMS with more updated figures reflecting the costs of such imaging services.
“Our efforts to educate CMS on the true cost of providing these services and the adverse impact of such cuts on access to care, will be ineffective if radiologists, radiology business managers and other ultrasound providers do not supply recent invoices,” William T. Thorwarth Jr., MD, American College of Radiology chief executive officer, said in the release.
More information on cuts made by CMS can be viewed here. Invoices to the ACR may be submitted until March 4.
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.