February 19, 2007—On January 26, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a last-minute transmittal, CR 5449, containing significant changes to the 14 new compliance standards independent diagnostic testing facilities must meet in order to bill Medicare. The transmittal has been rescinded as of this morning.
The mandated changes would have required IDTFs to be fully operational, fully staffed, and fully compliant with 14 regulations before being allowed to apply for Medicare billing, requiring immense capital output. An alteration to another standard prohibited IDTFs from sharing space and equipment with other Medicare suppliers; this change was presumably an attempt to block controversial leasing agreements.
A brief comment on the CMS Web site notes that the transmittal will not be replaced at this time.
—Cat Vasko
