New acting CMS administrator lays out his policy

Acting CMS administrator Kerry Weems has presented his intended agenda, which promises to introduce more transparency in CMS business dealings.

As an example, Weems said the all corrective-action measures between CMS and Medicare Advantages will be posted to the agency’s website by the end of the month.

“If there's a policy, I want it done in the daylight,” although some actions may still have to be issued after the markets close, Weems said. The CMS decision to reject New York's plan to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) “was not a cocktail-hour press release,” added Weems.

He did acknowledge that the agency needs to improve its methods of issuing a new policy to set limitations on expanding SCHIP to higher-income populations.

Weems also declared that he is meeting with every senior CMS manager to review contractual arrangements with agency partners, in order to enhance compliance.

Around the web

Positron, a New York-based nuclear imaging company, will now provide Upbeat Cardiology Solutions with advanced PET/CT systems and services. 

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.

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