Sep 18, 2024

Elizabeth Gregerson - Tuesday, September 17th, 2024 In a Sept. 9 letter to CMS, El Segundo, Calif.-based Radiology Partners expressed concerns over the proposed 2025 Physician Fee Schedule, colorectal cancer screenings and radiation dose management. Here are three takeaways: CMS proposed a physician fee schedule conversion factor of $32.3562 for 2025, 2.8% lower than the previous year. Radiology Partners said it was the lowest conversion factor since 1993. The continued cuts "disincentivize clinicians" from being interventional radiology providers and limit equipment investments, the letter said. Radiology Partners encouraged CMS to expand coverage of colorectal cancer screening to include computer tomography colonography. The group urged CMS to "include follow-up colonoscopies after all abnormal Medicare-covered, non-invasive colorectal cancer screening tests, including CTC," under colorectal cancer screening coverage. In response to a new CMS measure — Excessive Radiation Dose or Inadequate Image Quality for Diagnostic CT in Adults — Radiology Partners said, "the goal of radiation dose management should be dose optimization, not simply dose minimization." Radiology Partners asked CMS to track the measure and be open to feedback regarding its "feasibility and merits." Read the full letter here .