House approves one-month physician payment fix and EDs see increase in CT exams
CAL/AAEM News Service
calaaem.news.service1 at gmail.com
Sat Dec 4 18:12:17 PST 2010
November 29, 2010
House approves one-month physician payment fix
AHA News Now
The House today approved by voice vote legislation that extends
through the end of the year current Medicare payment rates for
physicians. The legislation, which cleared the Senate on Nov. 18, was
sent to the president to sign into law. The administration has said
that the president would sign the bill before a scheduled 23% cut in
physician payments takes effect on Wednesday. The cost of retaining
physician's 2.2% update in Medicare payments would be paid for using
savings from a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services policy
that reduces Medicare payments for multiple therapy services provided
to patients. The Physician Payment and Therapy Relief Act would revise
the policy by imposing a 20% payment cut for these therapy services,
rather than the 25% reduction included in the recent 2011 physician
fee schedule final rule. While CMS would redistribute the savings to
increase payments for other physician services, the legislation would
use the estimated $1 billion in savings exclusively for the one-month
physician payment fix. "We support the passage of a 30 day extension
of the 'doc fix' by Congress," AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock
said today. "… We will continue to work with Congress and physicians
to find a longer-term solution, while remaining vigilant against cuts
that could be harmful to other parts of the health care system."
November 29, 2010
Emergency departments see significant increase in CT exams
AHA News Now
The use of CT scans as a diagnostic tool increased by 500% in hospital
emergency departments from 1995 to 2007, according to a study released
today in the journal Radiology. CT scan use increased from 2.7 million
to 16.2 million during that 13-year period. For much of that time,
headache was the complaint most commonly associated with a CT exam in
the ED. But by 2007, headache was surpassed by abdominal pain as the
complaint most often associated with CT imaging. "Recent developments,
such as increased awareness of cost, radiation concerns, national
health care reform legislation and the economic recession, are likely
to inhibit further growth," said lead researcher David Larson, M.D.,
quality improvement director for the Cincinnati Children's Hospital
Medical Center's radiology department. Researchers examined data from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Hospital
Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Larson said CTs have proven to be a
"great tool" to look for kidney stones, appendicitis and coronary
artery disease, but "our emphasis now should be on carefully
evaluating the use of CT in specific situations and making sure it is
used appropriately."
Anna Parks &
Brian Potts MD, MBA
Managing Editors, CAL/AAEM News Service
University of California, Irvine
Contact us at: calaaem.news.service1 at gmail.com
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