Lobbying efforts to improve PET reimbursement for 2002 appear to have paid dividends, although not as much as some may have hoped. The U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) announced yesterday that the ambulatory payment classification (APC) for PET in 2002 will be $1368.13, a 41% decline from current reimbursement levels.
Although PET advocates won't likely be fully satisfied by the reimbursement rate, it's at least a 62% improvement over the agency's proposed rate of $841.94, which was produced using CMS surveys of average costs at PET facilities. The August proposal had sparking a lobbying effort by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and the nuclear medicine industry, with the SNM describing the proposed cuts as "draconian".
Nuclear medicine advocates and PET vendors also attacked the survey methodology used to develop the $841.94 rate, claiming that it didn't accurately reflect the costs involved in providing PET services, especially the cost of FDG. The cost for FDG varies, but the published average wholesale price is $750, according to the SNM.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersNovember 30, 2001
Related Reading
Reimbursement changes could sabotage PET growth in U.S., November 14, 2001
PET procedures up 7% in second quarter, October 23, 2001
Proposed PET payment cuts could halt growth, September 26, 2001
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