Insurance Coverage

Most insurance companies pay for clinically indicated PET and PET/CT procedures. To be clinically indicated, the procedure must be potentially beneficial in providing information supportive of a diagnosis or monitoring certain conditions.

Private Insurance
Generally, most private insurance companies cover the same indications as Medicare, although some may cover more indications and some may cover fewer indications. Private payers can have wide variations in coverage policies, coverage criteria or procedures. The referring physician and the imaging center work together to verify specific local coverage guidelines and to obtain pre-authorization prior to performing the scan.

Medicare
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) coverage policies for PET and PET/CT indications are decided at a national level and are documented in a National Coverage Determination (NCD), section 220.6 Medicare Covered Indications.

National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR)
The National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) was developed in response to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposal to expand coverage for FDG PET to include cancers and indications not presently eligible for Medicare reimbursement. Medicare reimbursement for these cancers is available if the patient's referring physician and the imaging provider submit data to a clinical registry to assess the impact of PET on cancer patient management. The NOPR implements this registry for CMS.

Please contact our office with questions regarding insurance and coverage for PET scans.


What is PET?

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a powerful imaging technique that holds great promise in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, particularly cancer. A non-invasive test, PET scans accurately image the cellular function of the human body. In a single PET scan your physician can examine your entire body. PET scanning provides a more complete picture, making it easier for your doctor to diagnose problems, determine the extent of disease, prescribe treatment, and track progress.

What is PET/CT?

PET (Positron Emission Tomography) and CT (Computed Tomography) scans are both standard imaging tools that physicians use to pinpoint disease states in the body. A PET scan demonstrates the biological function of the body before anatomical changes take place, while the CT scan provides information about the body's anatomy such as size, shape and location. By combining these two scanning technologies, a PET/CT scan enables physicians to more accurately diagnose and identify cancer, heart disease and brain disorders.