ACR Pans CMS Consideration of MAC Consolidation

The American College of Radiology® (ACR®) provided comments  to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to the agency’s September Request for Information (RFI) about the potential consolidation of four Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) jurisdictions into two jurisdictions, and to get feedback about extending MAC contracts from seven to 10 years. The College wrote against the consolidation and reiterated its position to strengthen the engagement of physicians within the coverage determination process.

MACs are private healthcare insurers awarded a geographic jurisdiction to process Medicare Part A and Part B medical claims or Durable Medical Equipment (DME) claims for people with traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare. Currently, there are 12 A/B MACs and four DME MACs in the program that process Medicare FFS claims for nearly 51% of the total Medicare beneficiary population, approximately 34 million Medicare FFS beneficiaries.

If you have questions or want more information about local coverage policies and MAC activities, contact Alicia Blakey, ACR Principal Economic Analyst.