The American College of Radiology (ACR) and more than 80 medical associations, healthcare systems, and patient advocacy groups are urging the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to rescind planned reimbursement reductions for low-dose CT lung cancer screening in 2017.
In a letter to CMS Administrator Andrew Slavitt, the organizations said that the 2017 Hospital Outpatient Prospective System (HOPPS) proposed rule would decrease reimbursement for low-dose CT (LDCT) shared decision-making sessions by 64% and for LDCT scans themselves by 44%. The cuts may scuttle recently established screening programs and deter local providers from starting screening programs.
"Quite simply, if the reimbursement rates for the shared decision-making visit and corresponding LDCT scan are too low, it will be cost prohibitive for hospital outpatient departments and many will not be able to afford to offer these services at all," according to the letter. "Furthermore, if the services are unavailable in the outpatient setting, qualifying patients will be unable to receive annual screens and the battle to combat lung cancer mortality will be severely undermined. This reality is especially troubling considering that numerous community-based hospitals are just beginning to offer annual LDCT services to local patients."
The changes would likely restrict screening programs to large metropolitan hospitals, according to the organizations. They also noted that the proposed cuts would have the greatest negative impact on the underserved poor and minorities due to their reliance on hospital outpatient departments in inner cities or large geographic areas.
The effort included the Lung Cancer Alliance, the Prevent Cancer Foundation, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the ACR, and the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA), among others. The full letter can be found on the ACR's website.
