Medicare (CMS) decided on March 12 that it will NOT reduce or eliminate reimbursements for CT angiography (CTA or CCTA) as had been proposed. The cardiology and radiology community is breathing a sigh of relief, particularly in the wake of the 2007 cuts in imaging center reimbursements under the Deficit Reduction Act.

The proposal had called for eliminating reimbursement for CTA, although exceptions were included for clinical trials and two other indications.

The outpouring of objections from radiologists and cardiologists during the comment period were effective at killing the proposal. Approximately 350 commenters stated that using cardiac CTA saves money and reduces the number of invasive cardiac catheterizations and/or other diagnostic tests.

The proposal would have "drastically limited patient access to cardiac-computed-tomography angiography (CCTA) - an extremely important medical imaging tool that detects coronary artery disease (CAD) non-invasively, eliminating the need for surgery or catheterization," according to the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA).

"This revised decision will benefit countless Americans who would have been needlessly subjected to more invasive and expensive in-patient procedures if CMS' proposed decision had been accepted," said Andrew Whitman, Vice President of MITA.

Read the full CMS ruling including technology assessments of 16-, 64-, and dual slice CT; and ER applications here.

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