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agate
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Joined: 17 May 2006
Posts: 5694
Location: Oregon
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 Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 3:26 pm Post subject: (Article) Medicare tries to curb doctors' profits from tests |
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From Physician's First Watch, October 24, 2006:
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Medicare Seeks to Restrict Physician Profits from Medical Tests
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services want to restrict physicians' ability to profit from referring patients for medical tests for fear that unnecessary MRIs and other expensive tests are contributing to increased medical costs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Medicare spending on medical imaging, for example, has been rising about 20% a year since 1999. Some studies indicate that physicians with a financial interest in certain tests are more likely to order those tests. So the proposed rules would crack down on self-referral, in which a physician refers patients for tests that he or she profits from.
The proposal, which could take effect as early as November, would prohibit doctors in some cases from charging Medicare more than it actually cost them to perform a test. The rules are aimed at closing the "in-office ancillary services" loophole that allows doctors in group practices to refer patients for diagnostic testing provided in the group's offices or another location leased by the practice.
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(I added the highlighting.--agate) |
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