MEDICARE
REIMBURSEMENT
AND THE VASCULAR LAB:
AN OVERVIEW
The
Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) receives numerous
phone calls and e-mails each week from individuals who are concerned
with their compliance to state Medicare reimbursement policies.
Over the past several years, several states have adopted payment
policy for the reimbursement of noninvasive vascular procedures,
requiring either credentialing of individuals performing examinations
or accreditation of the laboratory. A complete state-by-state
listing of payment policies of which the ICAVL is aware can
be found at Payment Policies.
BACKGROUND
In
1996, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), now the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), published
a directive as a recommendation for the reimbursement of noninvasive
vascular studies. However, the final decision on whether to
implement a policy requiring certification of laboratory personnel
and/or accreditation of the laboratory was left up to each individual
state’s Medicare carrier. For that reason, there has been
a wide range of activity with regard to implementation of the
template payment policy.
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MEDICARE
REIMBURSEMENT AND THE ICAVL |
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THE ICAVL DOES:
Attempt
to stay abreast of Medicare policies as a service to the
vascular community
Communicate
information to vascular laboratories about Medicare policies
(through the ICAVL web site, Newsletter articles and other
mailings to laboratories)
Employ
knowledgeable staff to assist laboratories with basic
questions about payment policies
Provide,
upon request, the same information to Medicare as we publish
in the accredited laboratory listing on the web site
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THE ICAVL DOES NOT:
Establish
rules or regulations for Medicare
Have
the authority to make decisions regarding implementation
dates, extensions, etc.
Have
responsibility for notifying providers of vascular testing
services of Medicare policies
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Lawrence Williams is available at the IAC to answer your general questions
about payment policy and reimbursement. He may be contacted
toll-free at 800-838-2110, or via email at williams@intersocietal.org. |
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