12 2 STA T . 2 539PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 7 5 —J UL Y 15 , 200 8(I)onthera te s o f a p propr i ate ,u n c ertain, an d inappropriate ad v anced dia g nostic i m aging serv - ices furnished by physicians participating in the demonstration pro j ect
(II) on patterns and trends in the appropriate- ness and inappropriateness of such services fur- nished by such physicians; (III) on patterns and trends in nationa l and regional variations of care w ith respect to the fur- nishing of such services; and (I V ) on the correlation between the appro- priateness of the services furnished and image results; and (iv) address — (I) the thresholds used under the demonstra- tion project to identify acceptable and outlier levels of performance with respect to the appropriateness of advanced diagnostic imaging services furnished; (II) whether prospective use of appropriateness criteria could have an effect on the volume of such services furnished; (III) whether e x pansion of the use of appro- priateness criteria with respect to such services to a broader population of M edicare beneficiaries would be advisable; (IV) whether, under such an expansion, physi- cians who demonstrate consistent compliance with such appropriateness criteria should be exempted from certain re q uirements; (V) the use of incident-specific versus practice- specific outlier information in formulating future recommendations with respect to the use of appro- priateness criteria for such services under the Medicare program; and (VI) the potential for using methods (including financial incentives), in addition to those used under the models under the demonstration project, to ensure compliance with such criteria . ( B ) REPORT .— N ot later than 1 year after the comple- tion of the demonstration project under this subsection, the S ecretary shall submit to C ongress a report containing the results of the evaluation of the demonstration project conducted under subparagraph ( A ), together with rec- ommendations for such legislation and administrative action as the Secretary determines appropriate. ( 6 ) FUNDI N G .— T he Secretary shall provide for the transfer from the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund established under section 1 84 1 of the Social Security Act (4 2U .S.C. 1 395 t) of $ 1 0 ,000,000, for carrying out the demonstration project under this subsection (including costs associated with administering the demonstration project, reimbursing physi- cians for administrative costs and providing incentives to encourage participation under paragraph (2)(C), entering into contracts under paragraph (2)(I), and evaluating the demonstra- tion project under paragraph (5)). (c) G A O STUD YA ND REPORT S ONA C CREDITATION RE Q UIRE M ENT F OR AD V ANCED D IAGNOSTIC IMAGING SERVICES.—
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