The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has provided details on how it plans to implement payment reductions for the use of analog radiography starting in 2017.
The reductions were mandated by provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 designed to move U.S. healthcare providers from analog x-ray to digital operation. Medicare and Medicaid payments will be reduced by 20% for providers submitting claims for analog x-ray studies starting in January 2017. In addition, starting in 2018 payments for computed radiography (CR) will be reduced by 7% for the next five years, and by 10% after that.
CMS on November 2 detailed how it would implement the reductions in a final rule for its Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), according to an analysis by the American College of Radiology. CMS has established a new modifier, "FX," to track claims filed for plain-film studies so it can implement the reduction.
