Medicare: Impact of Changing Transportation Policy for Portable Equipment IsUncertain

摘要

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)--the agency that administers theMedicare program--reduced payments to certain providers who perform electrocardiogram (EKG) and ultrasound examinations in nursing homes and beneficiaries' residences. In the past, Medicare had permitted these providers of these portable diagnostic tests to receive, in addition to the fee for performing the test, a separate payment for transporting the necessary equipment. However, HCFA eliminated separate transportation payments for ultrasound services effective January 1, 1996. HCFA eliminated separate transportation payments for EKG services effective January 1, 1997, but these payments were temporarily restored by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA).