FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2008
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AdvaMed Response to GAO Report on Imaging Services
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), released the following statement today regarding the Government Accountability Office’s
report on Medicare Part B Imaging Services:
“We fear the GAO’s recommendations, if implemented, would severely hamper patient access to appropriate and needed medical imaging services.
“AdvaMed has long supported the use of accreditation and appropriateness criteria – as included in the current Medicare package – as a patient-centric alternative to prior authorization schemes.
“While GAO provides information on the use of prior authorization by private health plans through the use of radiology benefits managers (RBMs), they provide no peer-reviewed studies documenting the results the RBMs claim to achieve.
“The GAO analysis of spending trends doesn’t reflect the significant reductions in payments for imaging services provided in physicians’ offices beginning in 2007, which were included in the Deficit Reduction Act.
“Additionally, the absence of physician assessment or input on the use of RBMs is a glaring omission.
“We will continue to work with Congress, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Health and Human Services to improve the quality of images by requiring accreditation of equipment and personnel in physicians’ offices, and to assure access to imaging services through the development and use of appropriateness criteria.”
# # #AdvaMed member companies produce the medical devices, diagnostic products and health information systems that are transforming health care through earlier disease detection, less invasive procedures and more effective treatments. Our members produce nearly 90 percent of the health care technology purchased annually in the United States and more than 50 percent purchased annually around the world. AdvaMed members range from the largest to the smallest medical technology innovators and companies. For more information, visit http://www.advamed.org/.