The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) filed a letter with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to object to a proposed rule in the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) that could result in reimbursement cuts for interventional radiologists.
Under the CMS proposal, interventional radiologists could see an aggregate cut of 13% for all interventional radiology treatments, with certain procedures performed in office-based lab settings experiencing cuts greater than 20%, according to SIR. Treatments with the highest cuts may include limb-saving peripheral arterial disease treatments, clot-busting venous treatments, venous stenting, and other vascular work.
These proposed reimbursement cuts could shutter practices and potentially leave thousands of medically vulnerable patients without access to care, according to the society. The SIR said it has joined other organizations, such as the American Medical Association, the American College of Radiology, and the CardioVascular Coalition in lobbying CMS and Congress against these changes.
Specifically, the societies are requesting that CMS and Congress:
- Reverse the cuts.
- Suspend sequestration.
- Maintain for 2022 the COVID-19 related increase to the conversion factor.
- Avoid implementing clinical labor pricing revisions at this time. If these revisions must be implemented, the new rates should be phased in over four years to minimize the effects on private practices.
- Adopt Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC) reimbursement recommendations for specialty and practice expense.
The SIR's letter can be found here.
