MedPAC: Medicare imaging spending drops 2.5%
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) has confirmed the recent downward trend in Medicare spending and utilization on medical imaging procedures and said imaging services declined by 2.5 percent in 2010.
The findings, announced during MedPAC’s Dec. 15 public meeting, are consistent with an analysis of Medicare claims data commissioned by the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) earlier this year.
The analysis found spending on imaging services for each Medicare beneficiary has dropped 13.2 percent since 2006, when significant imaging-specific reimbursement cuts from the Deficit Reduction Act began to be implemented, and imaging utilization per beneficiary declined by 3 percent in 2010.
The findings, announced during MedPAC’s Dec. 15 public meeting, are consistent with an analysis of Medicare claims data commissioned by the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) earlier this year.
The analysis found spending on imaging services for each Medicare beneficiary has dropped 13.2 percent since 2006, when significant imaging-specific reimbursement cuts from the Deficit Reduction Act began to be implemented, and imaging utilization per beneficiary declined by 3 percent in 2010.