CMS to let carriers price fees for in-office cath lab services

Why This Topic Matters

The change affects how certain cardiology services are paid and whether they are covered in some local markets, making it important for cardiology billing staff, outpatient cath lab administrators, and physician practices tracking Medicare fee schedule updates.

Article Sections

1. Payment policy change for carrier-priced services

   Introduces CMS’s fee schedule change and explains the broader shift in pricing responsibility to carriers for selected services across specialties.

2. Carrier coverage decisions and office-based cath labs

   Discusses how local coverage decisions may affect office-based cardiac catheterization services and the concerns raised by cardiology practices.

3. Cardiology services affected by carrier pricing

   Summarizes the cardiology-related services identified as subject to carrier pricing, including imaging, echocardiography, electrophysiology, and catheterization-related services.

4. Physician Fee Schedule Resources

   Lists CMS and Federal Register resources for accessing the fee schedule and related reference files.

5. Carrier-priced in 2007

   Provides the article’s inventory of cardiology codes associated with the carrier-priced changes for 2007.