If physicians caring for Medicare fee-for-service patients were all high-value physicians, the federal program could cut healthcare costs by a whopping $286.8 billion from 2020 to 2029, according to UnitedHealth Group. For 2020 alone, Medicare could save more than $20 billion if all physicians were considered high value.

The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), American College of Radiology and other industry groups sent a letter to congressional leadership Tuesday, Sept. 24, asking for a permanent repeal of the “disastrous” medical device tax. A suspension of the tax is set to expire Jan. 1, 2020.

Medicare Advantage premiums are expected to drop 23% from 2018 levels ahead of the new enrollment period, CMS announced, stating that plan choices, benefits and enrollment have increased.

Radiologists with lifetime certification are more likely to forgo participation in American Board of Radiology (ABR) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) programs than those with time-limited certification, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

The American College of Radiology suggests CMS delay the start of its new radiation oncology (RO) model to allow radiation oncologists adequate time to prepare for participation in the new model, according to a Sept. 16 comment letter.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced his plan to eliminate $81 billion in medical debt as part of his pitch to become the Democratic presidential candidate.

Catch up on some of the healthcare industry’s most recent investment rounds.

Purdue Pharma, maker of the popular opioid OxyContin, will be allowed to dole out millions of dollars in bonuses to executives as the company declares bankruptcy as part of a $10 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits against the company for its role in the national opioid abuse and overdose epidemic.