IR UpFront
SIR gets coverage for pneumatic compression devices
SIR has prevailed in our fight to get Medicare Administrative Contractors Noridian and CGS—A Celerian Group Company (CGS) to lift their restrictive local coverage determinations (LCD) that made it difficult for physicians to treat patients who need pneumatic compression devices (PCD). Starting Nov. 14, Noridian and CGS will begin following the national coverage determination (NCD) for claims for service on or after that date. This decision affects all jurisdictions for Medicare suppliers who furnish durable medical equipment. Since 2022, Noridian and CGS have limited PCD coverage for Medicare beneficiaries, but SIR, along with the American Vein and Lymphatic Society, the American Venous Forum, Society for Vascular Surgery and industry, fought the decision.
Revised Global Statement on IR
SIR and the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe (CIRSE) have proudly released "Global Statement—Have We Reached the Tipping Point" by Robert A. Morgan, MD, MBBS, FSIR; Parag J. Patel, MD, MS, FSIR; Christoph A. Binkert, MD, FSIR; and Alda Tam, MD, MBA, FSIR.
Updates from the September CPT® and RUC meetings
SIR requested Current Procedural Terminology® (CPT®) codes at the September 2024 American Medical Association (AMA) CPT® Editorial Panel meeting. The meeting was the final of three meetings to update codes for the 2026 CPT® code cycle.
SIR collaborated with other specialty societies and industry on the following code change applications:
• Lower extremity vascular procedures • Irreversible electroporation of tumors • Thoracic branch endograft services • Sympathetic denervation renal arteries
If approved, the new Category III codes will be posted on the AMA website on Jan. 1, 2025, and take effect July 1, 2025, and new Category I codes will take effect Jan. 1, 2026. Approval of the codes at the September 2024 meeting should be posted in October and can be found on the AMA website.
In October, survey preparations began for the January 2025 meeting of the AMA Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC). If you receive a RUC survey from SIR for a procedure that you perform, please complete it as soon as possible. SIR members are randomly selected to participate in the survey. The RUC is a unique multispecialty committee dedicated to describing the resources required to provide physician services, which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) considers in developing Relative Value Units (RVUs). Although the RUC provides recommendations, CMS makes all final decisions about what Medicare payments will be. Learn more about the RUC survey.
This revised edition of a 2010 statement has been endorsed by 47 national and regional interventional radiology societies and is open access, having been published in Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology and the CardioVascular and Interventional Radiology. This statement establishes the foundational principles of the specialty for interventional radiologists worldwide. SIR and CIRSE came together to revise and update this 15-year-old statement to reflect the changes and developments in the field since its inception.
JVIR Editor-in-chief Daniel Y. Sze, MD, PhD, FSIR, has also invited Barry T. Katzen, MD, FSIR, to write a commentary on this statement for an upcoming JVIR issue, citing that the progress and plans described within the article are concepts that Dr. Katzen and others have pushed for over 40 years.
IRs are encouraged to read the report and share the information with colleagues, in order to create a more unified global IR community, foster important discussions and continue the advancement of IR awareness. In addition, IRs are encouraged to cite the statement in their own work, when relevant.
Read the statement on JVIR.
doi.org/10.1016/j.jvir.2024.10.011.
10 IRQ | FALL 2024
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