PHYSICIANS, INSURERS SPAR OVER IMAGING REIMBURSEMENT

In Minnesota, physicians are reportedly up in arms over a new insurance rule that will force them to consult a third party before they can proceed with magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography and computed tomography scans.

Medica, the second-largest health plan in Minnesota, recently announced that doctors must seek its approval before ordering outpatient imaging scans. HealthPartners and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota are reportedly planning to impose similar requirements.

Insurance firms are apparently concerned that physicians are opting for more expensive scans when a cheaper X-ray scan will suffice. Imaging costs for the state's insurance companies jumped 13 percent between 2004 and 2005, when insurers spent nearly $189 million on the services, according to the Minnesota Council of Health Plans.