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CMS proposes reducing CT scan reimbursements, debate over procedure grows

Credentialing Resource Center Connection, February 28, 2008

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In January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed changing reimbursement rates for CT scans due to concerns about radiation risks and unnecessary costs, according to a February 19 Baltimore Sun article.

However, CT scans are a popular procedure to use for heart tests and CMS has received numerous complains from cardiologists, radiologists, and other doctors who use the scan and think the proposed changes will have a negative effect on their practices, the Sun reported.

Critics of the scans argue that a CT angiography typically exposes patients to a radiation dose equivalent to hundreds of standard X-rays, according to the article. Nevertheless, some doctors aren't ready to give up the test.

"You have to put this in context. Every test is a weighing of risks and benefits," Armin Zadeh, MD, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine told the Baltimore Sun. "The CMS thing has the potential to really damage the field. In years to come, this test will be the cornerstone of heart imaging."

To read the entire Baltimore Sun article, click here. 

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