Senators oppose radiation cuts
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Sens. Blanche Lincoln., D-Ark., and Richard Burr, R-N.C., lead a bipartisan group of 32 senators on a letter to Health and Human Services Sept. 23 opposing proposed cuts to radiation oncology services in CMS' draft 2010 physician fee schedule. The proposal would change the assumed Medicare utilization rate from 50% to 90% for equipment valued at more than $1 million per unit, effectively reducing the per-scan payment for services including magnetic resonance imaging and cancer radiation treatments. The bipartisan letter points out that the use rate change is based on a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recommendation targeting diagnostic imaging, not radiation oncology, which is hit with a 19% cut in the proposal (1"The Gray Sheet" July 6, 2009)