Experts work together to decrease medical costs and improve access

In January of 2025, the Centers for Medicare Services (CMS) began to cover radiofrequency ablation of thyroid nodules (RFA). This should be great news for patients, right??

Not exactly.

The problem is in how this was done. CMS chose to reimburse about $250 for the procedure, which is much less than the equipment to do the procedure costs. To offset those costs, CMS has allowed for a bundled fee to be paid to the hospital where a procedure is done, as long as that space is "regulated." Most of us have received extra bills from our insurance company for visiting a doctor in regulated space. This is because CMS considers some space to be more expensive and pays more.

Why is this a problem, if doctors can just do the procedure in the more expensive location? Two reasons: 1- it ultimately costs more to all of us to do a procedure in the hospital when it COULD be done in your local clinic and 2- it makes it harder for patients and doctors to get access to RFA. The same thing happened with thyroid biopsies a few years ago, costing patients both time and money.

Other problems with the new law include stipulations that doctors will earn more for treating both sides at the same time- a technique that is usually discouraged by most medical organizations.

As the President of the largest society in North America focused on thermal ablation such as RFA, Dr Russell and other leaders in the field implored CMS to change this rule. They continue to advocate for patients, and recently published an open letter in the journal THYROID, the lead journal of the American Thyroid Association.

Doctors will always fight for the best interests of their patients!