A new analysis by the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) finds that Medicare spending on medical imaging continues to decline, and that Medicare patients are receiving fewer imaging procedures.

“This analysis confirms the downward trend in both imaging spending and utilization in Medicare that has occurred in recent years,” said David Fisher, executive director of MITA. “The assumption that life-saving diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy are increasing healthcare costs is simply not true. Even in light of these significant downward trends in spending and utilization, policymakers continue to target medical imaging for more cuts, threating seniors’ access to life-saving services.”

The analysis shows that spending on imaging services for each Medicare beneficiary has dropped 13.2 percent since 2006, when significant imaging-specific reimbursement cuts from the Deficit Reduction Act began to be implemented and imaging utilization per beneficiary declined by 3 percent in 2010. 

Meanwhile, spending for non-imaging Medicare services has grown by 20 percent since 2006 and utilization increased 2 percent in 2010.

The analysis, which MITA released Nov. 16, also found that imaging is now a smaller portion of Medicare spending than it was at the turn of the century.

“It is unsettling to see these accelerating declines in Medicare beneficiaries’ use of medical imaging services during a time of tremendous advances in imaging and radiation therapy technologies, which have become increasingly integral to medical best practices and early disease detection,” said Fisher. “This disconnect raises serious concerns about whether or not patients are receiving the care they need.”

Congress and the Administration have cut imaging reimbursements seven times in six years, with payments for some services being reduced by more than 60 percent, including bone density screenings, arm and leg artery X-rays, and MRIs of the brain, according to MITA. These cuts hurt patient access and undercut the benefits of early detection, Fisher said.

“There are enough barriers keeping patients from effective treatments,” said Laurie Fenton, president of the Lung Cancer Alliance. “Congress shouldn’t make it any harder for us.” She added that further cuts to medical imaging would also make it harder for doctors to access lifesaving technologies.

“Current evidence, including this analysis, debunks the myth that imaging is significantly overused and somehow responsible for escalating healthcare costs,” John A. Patti, MD, chair of the American College of Radiology Board of Chancellors. “Unlike other areas of medicine, imaging utilization and spending are on the decline. According to these data, the goal of bending the cost curve has indeed been achieved for medical imaging. Any further reductions would represent socially irresponsible policy.”