Revenue & Reimbursement

Healthcare reimbursement is payment that a hospital, diagnostic imaging facility, subspecialty department or healthcare providers receive for performing a service. This also includes individual radiologist or cardiologist reimbursement and billing and coding rules for submitting claims.

How the shift to value-based reimbursements could transform cardiology
"I think we really need our cardiologist community to understand the changes that are happening with value-based payment," one expert tells Cardiovascular Business.
‘Concerning’ data connect industry payments to cardiologists with medical device use
U.S. physicians often receive payments from medical device manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. New research in JAMA found a connection between receiving such payments and using specific devices—should the industry be concerned?
Medicare reimbursement down 29% for cardiologists, 58% for heart surgeons
Physician payments are down slightly across the board, but they've fallen significantly for a handful of specialties. Researchers examined the long-term impact this trend could have on patient care.
Why the business side of cardiology was a key focus at ACC.24
Alison Bailey, MD, co-chair of the business of cardiology sessions at ACC.24, emphasized that reimbursement cuts can have a long-term negative impact on patient.
New ACC President Cathie Biga wants to improve quality reporting in cardiology
Biga, who originally trained as a nurse, specializes in the business side of cardiology. She also emphasized the increasing importance of AI and other new technologies.

The ASNC is one of several medical imaging societies asking Congress to repeal the appropriate use criteria (AUC) criteria mandate. They say it poses issues for clinicians and is becoming outdated by changes in CMS payment systems. The AUC requirements call for documentation using CVMS authorized software in order to show advanced imaging such as nuclear and CT is justified, or else Medicare payments might be withheld.

American Society of Nuclear Cardiology urges Congress to speed prior authorizations, repeal AUC mandate

Over the past few weeks, members of ASNC’s Health Policy Committee have held meetings with their members of Congress.

April 18, 2022

The U.S. Congress is working on healthcare legislation to fix medicare reimbursements and end annual cuts to physicians.

Cardiology societies want to help Congress reform Medicare

Multiple cardiology societies, including the ACC, ASE and SCAI, want to work with Congress to update Medicare payment policies.

February 28, 2022

American Heart Association supports new ‘surprise billing’ legislation, but physician groups have serious doubts

According to the AHA, the No Surprises Act will "make a truly meaningful difference" to millions of patients. Physicians, on the other hand, have shared significant concerns about the legislation.

December 7, 2021

CMS finalizes 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule—payments to cardiologists take a hit

Also, penalties for failing to comply with the Appropriate Use Criteria program have been delayed yet again.

November 3, 2021

High‐billing cardiologists order more tests when treating AFib—but outcomes do not improve

What do these findings say about current billing policies?

October 21, 2021

Cardiologists oppose 2 key CMS proposals, warn of ‘unintended consequences’

The American College of Cardiology has published a thorough analysis of the proposed 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, making many recommendations and comments related to the future of patient care.

September 15, 2021

Cardiologists urge CMS to reconsider MPFS changes that could ‘jeopardize the delivery of care’

The American College of Cardiology and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography (SCAI) and Interventions are just two of the medical societies concerned about this proposal.

September 10, 2021

Women in cardiology receive less money from CMS, submit fewer charges

More research is still needed to find out why these differences exist, but the authors did offer some possible explanations.

September 9, 2021

Around the web

Health Imaging

New imaging protocols proposed to curb rise of cardiovascular infections

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Radiology Business

What does radiology have to do with climate change?

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."

Revenue & Reimbursement

How the shift to value-based reimbursements could transform cardiology

‘Concerning’ data connect industry payments to cardiologists with medical device use

Medicare reimbursement down 29% for cardiologists, 58% for heart surgeons

Why the business side of cardiology was a key focus at ACC.24

New ACC President Cathie Biga wants to improve quality reporting in cardiology

Around the web