Political Quotes

“I have introduced the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act of 2012, joined by my colleague from Louisiana, Senator David Vitter. Our goal is to preserve Medicare beneficiaries' access to life-saving advanced diagnostic imaging services, such as magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, computed tomography, CT, and ultrasound. Let me explain why this legislation is necessary. Medicare reimbursement for radiology services is based on two components: technical and professional. The technical component comprises the cost of equipment, nonphysician personnel, and medical supplies associated with the imaging process. The professional component is calculated by factoring in the radiologist's time, effort, and skill involved in interpreting images, rendering patient diagnoses, and reporting the findings in the patient's medical record. In recent years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sought to control imaging growth by cutting reimbursement for the technical component--reducing payment for multiple imaging services administered by the same physician to the same patient during a single office visit. This policy is referred to as the multiple procedure payment reduction, or MPPR. It is designed to take into account the efficiencies achieved by doing same-day procedures on the same patient, and for the technical component of radiology, it makes sense. However this year, CMS decided to apply the MPPR to the professional component as well.…”