Medicare 2009 IDTF Proposals
Medicare is proposing that all physician practices providing diagnostic testing must enroll as independent diagnostic testing facilities effective as of
This proposal would make physician practices subject to the performance standards for independent diagnostic testing facilities. This will prohibit, or at least discourage, hotel and motel sites, which are described as inappropriate in IDTF standards.
It would require non-physician personnel performing testing to have licensure or certification. There are a number of IDTF standards which would not apply to physician practices; one of those is the prohibition against sharing a practice location with another Medicare enrolled organization, which presumably means the physician practice. However, it still would prohibit leasing or subleasing the operations or the practice location, or sharing diagnostic testing equipment.
I have attached a copy of the comments from the 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposal. This is only a proposal, but the potential impact is obvious.
The proposals will also require enrollment of entities furnishing mobile services.
Why is a secondary insurance necessary when the premium payments can be made to Medicare and Medicare could receive the income and we could just go through one insurance?
I agree with that proposal. Now many medical offices will have at least a registered technologist to perform any medical procedure that they are billing.
Are all the radiology practice going to have to enroll with Medicare as an IDTF or is it just the referring physicians that have a radiology machine in their suite?