UnitedHealth Group to Require MRI Accreditation

Starting March 1, 2008, UnitedHealth Group will require all freestanding facilities and physician offices that perform MRIs and certain other imaging studies to obtain accreditation. Physicians without accreditation will not be reimbursed for the technical or global codes. UnitedHealth Group is the umbrella organization for insurance companies such as United Healthcare, Ovations, and AmeriChoice.

Both the American College of Radiology and the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC) offer acceptable imaging accreditation. “We recognize and respect the accreditation expertise of the American College of Radiology and the IAC, and we are convinced that our customers deserve to receive care from accredited facilities,” said Reed V. Tuckson, MD, UnitedHealth Group’s executive vice president and chief of medical affairs, in a press release. “As such, we take this opportunity to strongly encourage all United Healthcare participating imaging physicians to immediately take the steps necessary to become accredited.”

Accreditation can take from six to nine months to complete, so rheumatologists who perform MRIs should begin the process now. Other imaging modalities that will require accreditation include CT, PET, and cardiology services.