CMS Technical Correction Increases MPI Reimbursement
May 13, 2010
ASNC is pleased to announce that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released technical corrections to the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which result in payment increases for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) codes (CPT 78451-78454). The corrections are retroactive to January 1, 2010.
ASNC, the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM), and the American Medical Association (AMA) met with CMS earlier this year to discuss errors made during the transition from 2009 codes for MPI to the new bundled codes for these services in 2010. The errors included incorrect practice expense values for CPT codes 78451-78454.
Due to the technical correction, ASNC members can expect to see reimbursement rates increase as a result as a result of a higher practice expense relative value unit (RVU) used to calculate reimbursement rates for procedures. The increases vary per code; global reimbursement rates for some codes double with the correction. For more information on specific payment rates, click here.
ASNC has worked diligently with CMS to achieve this correction to the 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and greatly appreciates the assistance and support of SNM and the AMA on this issue. In the coming weeks, ASNC will provide more information to assist members in notifying payers of this correction and the increased reimbursement rates for the MPI codes.
Update (May 13, 2010): The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are diligently drafting instructions for local Medicare Contractors to implement the recently announced technical correction as listed in the Federal Register. CMS must complete and release these detailed instructions before the local Medicare contractors can correctly reprocess retroactive claims with a date of service after January 1, 2010, through claims that are paid with the corrected amounts. CMS has not given a timetable for the release of these instructions, however ASNC believes they will be available within the next few weeks. ASNC recommends that members NOT re-file claims until CMS provides these additional instructions. Stay tuned to www.asnc.org for the most up-to-date reimbursement information.
