Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and its Adverse Impact on Medicare Beneficiary Access to Positron Emission Tomography

摘要

In an attempt to rein in government spending as well as slow down the rampant growth of healthcare spending in the United States, Congress passed and President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA). Title V of this law mandates that all Medicare reimbursement for nonhospital diagnostic imaging procedures will be reduced to the lesser of either the HOPPS (hospital) fee schedule or the Medicare Part B physician fee schedule beginning January 1, 2007. The implementation of this very significant change in reimbursement will occur with no phase-in period nor apparent regard or allowance for the high capital equipment costs associated with providing access to new diagnostic imaging technologies. These changes in reimbursement also fail to address the inherent differences between the way in which hospitals and nonhospital imaging centers obtain capital and are reimbursed for putting new capital equipment into use. The imaging modality most impacted by these changes is also one of the newest and most vital in the battle against cancer and heart disease-positron emission tomography (PET).