UnitedHealthcare has delayed its plans to require physicians and outpatient imaging sites that bill on a 1500 Health Insurance Claim Form or its electronic equivalent to apply to be accredited before being reimbursed for computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, nuclear medicine/cardiology, and echocardiography procedures. The requirement was to take effect in the third quarter of this year, but United pushed it back to the fourth quarter of 2009.
The company says it based its decision on feedback from physicians, imaging professionals, and specialty societies. Another factor was the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) Congress passed in July. The bill, which also stopped scheduled cuts in Medicare payments to physicians, requires providers of advanced imaging services to be accredited by Jan. 1, 2012. "We believe it will be beneficial to our network providers to more closely align our reimbursement adjustment timeline with MIPPA," United said.
United says it recognizes the American College of Radiology and the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission standards.
Action , Sept. 2, 2008
Last Updated On
July 06, 2010
Originally Published On
March 23, 2010