Scheduled Medicare cuts were delayed through President Obama signing HR 4851, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010. A 21.3% effect was supposed to take effect on March 31st, 2010.
According to the American College of Radiology, CMS has indicated that any Medicare claims paid that reflected the 21.3% cut before the law’s passage will be reprocessed automatically without any action required from physicians.
The new law will also allow outpatient imaging centers to take advantage of “meaningful use” legislation that provides funding for facilities to purchase certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. This is a clarification. Previously, the meaningful use benefit was thought to apply to hospital-based physicians only.
The legislative clarification should be reflected in the eligibility requirements in CMS’ final rule on Stage 1 of meaningful use, which is due sometime before early summer 2010.
(Source: ACR Press Release)
