制造磁共振成像儀和貴重診斷性影像學(xué)硬件的公司宣稱，自從醫(yī)療保險部門削減了做影像病人的費(fèi)用后，他們的銷售正在下滑。這種付款的改變在一月份開始生效并且預(yù)期在五年內(nèi)可節(jié)省28億美元，根據(jù)工業(yè)組織提供給美聯(lián)社的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，由GE，Siemens，Toshiba和其他的公司制造的影像的銷售在最后一個季度下降超過20%，GE在第一季度，它的銷售額僅為1.5億美元。

醫(yī)療保險的官員指出，這種削減并不針對醫(yī)療影像大量使用的醫(yī)院。同時批評家也辯稱，有時核磁共振成像和其它高科技掃描的使用并非醫(yī)療所需，而僅僅是為了增加收入。但是企業(yè)和在成像部門工作的醫(yī)生們正在華盛頓游說，他們說，這種削減將使需要做掃描的病人變得很困難。“當(dāng)你看到阻止和限制對病人診斷的立法時，那將是一個很壞的長期的決定，它將直接影響人們的健康“，GE公司衛(wèi)生保健業(yè)務(wù)的總裁透露。

兩個成像貿(mào)易團(tuán)體在去年雇用了23名游說者去處理這個問題，根據(jù)AP部門說。但是那不可能扭轉(zhuǎn)這種趨勢—今年國會還沒有制定關(guān)于醫(yī)療成像賠償問題的聽證會，并且兩黨成員都一致承諾要削減更多的醫(yī)療保險支出。

Medicare Cuts Hurt Sales of Imaging Equipment

Companies that make MRI machines and other expensive diagnostic imaging hardware say their sales are down since Medicare cut payments for outpatient imaging procedures.

The payment changes went into effect in January and are expected to save save $2.8 billion over five years, the Associated Press reports。Sales of scanners made by GE, Siemens, Toshiba and others fell more than 20% last quarter, according to data an industry group provided to the AP。GE alone said its imaging sales took a $150 million hit in the first quarter.

Medicare officials point out that the cuts don’t target hospitals, where the majority of imaging procedures are done。And critics have argued that MRIs and other high-tech scans are sometimes performed without medical need, solely to boost revenues。But the industry and doctors who work in imaging are lobbying in Washington, arguing that the cuts will make it harder for patients to get needed scans.

“When you see legislation like this that retards and restricts the availability of diagnostics, it’s just a bad long-term decision that can negatively affect people’s health,” the president of GE’s health care business told the AP.

Two imaging trade groups hired 23 lobbyists last year to work on Medicare issues, according to the AP。But that may not be enough to turn the tide — Congress has not scheduled any hearings on the imaging reimbursement issue this year, and members of both parties have promised to make more cuts to Medicare spending。