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The mission of the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute® is to establish foundational evidence for health policy and radiology practice that promotes the effective and efficient use of health care resources and improves patient care.

December 20, 2024

The Neiman Imaging Comorbidity Index Proves Effective for Risk-Adjustment Across Medicare, Medicaid and Privately Insured Populations

Previously in 2024, researchers at the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute published a novel risk-adjustment score—the Neiman Imaging Comorbidity Index (NICI)—predictive of patients’ advanced imaging use. Now, these researchers have published more extensive validation of the NICI to test its utility in datasets other than the claims dataset from which it was developed. Read More

December 18, 2024

Medicaid Patients in States with Relatively Higher Medicaid Reimbursement Are More Likely to Receive Imaging

A new HPI study found that Medicaid patients residing in states with higher Medicaid reimbursement were more likely to receive medical imaging. However, the number of imaging exams for Medicaid patients who underwent imaging did not vary based on reimbursement differences. Read More

December 13, 2024

New Study Shows Mobile Mammography Reach is Highest in Underserved Groups with Low Breast Cancer Screening Adherence

A recent study by the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute demonstrates that mobile mammography is generally used by women otherwise unlikely to be screened, and thus is complementary to facility-based mammography rather than a substitute for it. Read More

November 19, 2024

NPP Imaging Interpretation Share More Than Doubled between 2013 and 2022

A new HPI study found non-physician practitioners’ (NPPs) share of imaging interpretation in office-based practices increased 117%, from 2.52% of Medicare imaging studies in 2013 to 5.47% in 2022. Interpretations by NPPs are performed by a small minority of NPPs with considerable variation by imaging modality and state. Read More

October 22, 2024

Radiologists are Participating in Less Resident Training as Workloads Increase, New Study Shows

According to new research from the Neiman Institute, radiologists who teach residents are spending significantly less time each year in that teaching role. The study, published in JACR, tracked the workload of 35,595 radiologists in Medicare Part B claims data from 2008 to 2020.  Read More

October 3, 2024

Neurointerventionalists May Rarely Recover Payment for Out of Network Mechanical Thrombectomy Under the No Suprises Act

The latest Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study found that neurointerventionalists, who often deliver lifesaving and disability-sparing treatments for emergency stroke cases, have essentially no financially viable access to payment recovery through the No Surprises Act for professional mechanical thrombectomy out-of-network claims. MT is an effective treatment for emergent large vessel occlusions, such as ischemic stroke. Read More

August 20, 2024

Heat Vulnerability Linked to Worse Stroke Severity, Offering a New Metric for Stroke Risk Amidst Climate Change

A new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study found that living in a neighborhood with higher vulnerability to environmental heat predicted worse stroke severity.  Investigators from HPI’s PRIME research center at Northwell Health, the largest health system in New York state, evaluated all acute ischemic stroke admissions to Northwell’s comprehensive stroke center over a decade.  Read More

August 12, 2024

Women Travel Nearly 3 Times as Far for Supplemental MR or US Breast Cancer Screening than for Mammography, Limiting Access for Those at Higher Risk

Given new breast density guidelines, now approximately one in two women are recommended to have supplemental breast cancer screening by breast MR or ultrasound due to their relatively higher breast cancer risk. Our latest research, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, measured distance to the nearest facility offering mammography, breast MR and/or breast ultrasound for 29,629 ZIP codes. Read More

July 11, 2024

Proposed Radiation Oncology Bundled Payments Produce Medicare Savings with Goal of Stabilizing Reimbursement

A new study by researchers from Mayo Clinic & the Neiman Institute demonstrates the impact on reimbursement of a value-based payment model, the Radiation Oncology Case Rate. A bipartisan bill introduced to Congress this May includes ROCR to protect access, reduce disparities and improve outcomes in cancer treatment. Read More

June 28, 2024

Imaging Market Share Analysis Shows 28% of Image Interpretation Performed by Non-Radiologists

Reston, VA – A new Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute study found that radiologists interpreted 72.1% of all imaging studies for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries in 2022, with the remaining 27.9% performed by other types of clinicians. Market share varied by imaging modality; radiologists interpreted 97.3% of computed tomography (CT), 91.0% of magnetic resonance (MR), 76.6% Read More