Imaging Managers’ Confidence in Medicare Rates Still Very Low

There’s little doubt among medical imaging managers that operating and staff costs will remain steady and that their department will maintain or grow as a profit center. Less clear, however, is whether they will receive adequate reimbursement from Medicare.

According to the latest data from the Medical Imaging Confidence Index looking into the second quarter of 2013, medical imaging managers reported “very low confidence” about adequate reimbursement. This bleak economic outlook follows the trend among managers for the last couple of years.

In the latest index, co-developed by The MarkeTech Group LLC and AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management, managers’ confidence dipped to a score of 64, down from 66 and 73 the previous quarters. The index evaluated the outlooks of 152 hospital imaging directors and managers.   

Meanwhile, managers continued to report feeling “neutral” that the department will grow monthly in volume and that they will have access to capital for imaging equipment and IT needs.

Here are the full results for the second quarter:

 What do you think?

Medical Imaging Confidence Index (MICI) was co-developed by AHRA:The Association for Medical Imaging Management and The MarkeTech Group, owner of the imagePRO panel, launched in 2008. MICI data rely on the feedback of a statistical cohort of respondents from the imagePRO panel that accurately represent the US market hospital market by bedsize and geographic areas.

For more on the MICI, check out the FAQ here.

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