The medical device manufacturers’ industry association, MITA, says Obama Budget’s Imaging Provisions Threaten New Medical Technology Development and Patient Care.

Key notes…

• President Obama’s proposed 2014 budget …includes a recommendation for a prior authorization system through for-profit radiology benefit managers (RBMs).
• Several recent independent analyses have shown a decline in utilization of imaging technologies. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) annual report to Congress in March 2012 confirmed that imaging services fell by 2.5 percent in 2010, while non-imaging utilization increased 2 percent. These data are consistent with an analysis commissioned by MITA which found that Medicare spending per beneficiary in the field has dropped 13.2 percent since 2006 and imaging utilization declined by 3 percent. This contrasts markedly with the overall Medicare program, in which spending per beneficiary increased by 20 percent and non-imaging utilization rose by 2 percent.