The agency also is proposing a new measure in the IQR program related to excessive radiation dose or inadequate image quality via CT.

“People with Medicare deserve to ... be able to get the care they need without excessive burden or delays," the agency's deputy administrator said.

The number represents a roughly 1.6% uptick from the radiologist salary figure recorded in the previous Doximity survey. 

Diagnostic Imaging Associates billed CMS for both service components, but the hospital was ineligible for reimbursement, the DOJ said.

Radiologists and pain management specialists are urging CMS to reconsider the decision and maintain access to this alternative to opioids or surgery. 

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance challenged Medicare's limited coverage for beta-amyloid PET, used to help identify those at risk.

CMS first announced the change late last year via the 2023 Outpatient Prospective Payment System/Ambulatory Surgical Center Final Rule. 

In the years since the turn of the century, interventional radiology has made quantifiable strides toward familiarizing the general public with the specialty and, along the way, helping IR better compete for business with surgery.