Look out for deeper TC cuts on many contiguous MRI, CT and ultrasounds

Why This Topic Matters

Providers that perform multiple imaging studies in one session need to understand how Medicare’s technical-component payment changes may affect reimbursement and fee schedule review. The article helps readers identify which broad imaging categories and official Medicare resources are involved.

Article Sections

1. Payment change overview

   Introduces the Medicare update, the effective date, and the broad imaging categories involved. Summarizes the scope of the technical-component change and the role of contiguous imaging families.

2. Example of the reduction in practice

   Uses a spinal MRI scenario to illustrate how the policy affects multiple studies performed in one session. The example is limited to payment impact and family grouping context.

3. How to identify affected imaging codes

   Explains where the affected services appear in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value File and which column indicators are used to flag them. Also notes the imaging-family reference information available in the file.

4. Key to Medicare’s diagnostic imaging family indicators

   Lists the imaging-family indicator categories for CT, MRI, MRA, and ultrasound. This section serves as a reference for interpreting the family classifications used by Medicare.

5. Shrinking tech components for ortho MRI, CT scans

   Presents a table of common imaging services used by orthopedic practices and shows how the technical component is affected under the updated reduction schedule. The section focuses on reimbursement comparison data and family classifications.