Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) has introduced a bill into the U.S. House of Representatives that would provide a six-month grace period to help those opening advanced medical imaging facilities to comply with the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (MIPPA) of 2008.
The bill creates a six-month grace period during which new advanced medical imaging providers can get Medicare reimbursement while they apply for accreditation, which isn't allowed for under current law, Renacci said in a statement released today.
"It is a simple solution for a problem that was overlooked when MIPPA was originally passed, [and] it will spur job creation and help small, start-up medical imaging businesses in Ohio and around the country," Renacci said.
Renacci introduced the bill, HR 3328, on November 2; it was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means.
When it was passed in July 2008, the centerpiece of MIPPA was an 18-month postponement of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula, which at the time was scheduled to rise 10.6%. But the legislation also included requirements designed to address perceived overutilization of advanced diagnostic imaging services, primarily by requiring providers of these services to be accredited by January 2012 to receive Medicare reimbursement for the technical component of scans.
But there was no grace period built into the law, creating a serious barrier to entry for those wishing to start a business, Renacci said. For new advanced imaging facilities to receive MIPPA accreditation, they must submit specific case studies, quality assurance information, and other documentation that may take them a period of time to acquire. The imaging facility would not be eligible for Medicare reimbursement for services rendered during this period.
Legislation such as Renacci's bill is crucial for nonhospital-based imaging to continue, according to Joe Palmisano, owner of Captive Radiology, a radiology practice consulting firm in Canton, OH.
There's no provision in the current law for a grace period for new imaging facilities and for existing facilities that want to swap out equipment -- an omission that allows the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to make it virtually impossible to open any new independent imaging facilities after January 1, 2012, Palmisano told AuntMinnie.com.
"Congressman Renacci's bill will allow those nonhospital-based advanced medical imaging facilities who have always strived for the highest in quality patient care, and who have already believed in the importance of accreditation, to continue to grow and offer patients convenient access to quality diagnostic imaging," Palmisano said. "Without this bill, access to prompt, quality diagnostic imaging will be drastically cut within a short time."
