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Earlier this week, President Obama signed into law Medicare physician payment legislation that included some important changes to the way healthcare providers are reimbursed for CT and other advanced imaging procedures. Aimed at patient safety and public health, these changes incentivize healthcare providers to use both low dose CT technology and appropriate use criteria via a differential payment policy. Put simply, healthcare providers that don’t scan patients with low dose CT will eventually be reimbursed at lower rates. 这个星期，美国总统奥巴马签署了一项新的美国医疗保险报销法案，调整了CT和其他高端影像设备的报销额度。为了保证病人安全和提高公众健康，新的报销法案鼓励医院使用低剂量CT技术对病人进行CT检查。简言之，低剂量CT扫描会得到更高的报销额度。 Specifically, beginning in 2015, reimbursements for CT will be 5% lower on CT equipment which does not meet the new standards. In 2016, the reduction in reimbursement will be 15%. This also includes the CT portion of PET CT scans. These changes will eventually save about $200 million over 10 years. And result in safer exams and better patient outcomes. 这项法案规定，从2015年开始，未达到低剂量标准的CT检查将只报销95%的检查费用。到2016年，对未达到低剂量标准的CT检查的报销额度将减少到85%。这一举措将在未来10年内为美国节省2亿美金的医疗支出，并且可以为公众提供更安全、质量更高的CT检查。 As we often discuss, reimbursement for advanced imaging is frequently a target in Washington. Since 2006, there have been many rounds of reductions. Just last year, there was a proposal on the table to reduce MR and CT reimbursement by as much as 30%. The final reductions were more in the 8% to 10% range, but the pressure to reduce these large costs is only going to grow in the coming years as the US economy (and other economies around the world), teeter under the burden of high healthcare costs.The US today spends over 18% of GDP on healthcare! 医疗支出一直是美国社会的沉重负担。每年，美国将GDP总量的18%用于医保报销。因此，降低高端医学影像检查的报销额度一直是美国政府的热门话题。从2006年以来，已经有多次报销额度的削减。去年，有立法者提议将核磁和CT的报销额度减少30%。虽然经过激烈讨论，最终的额度削减只有8%－10%，但是，减少医疗支出将是美国和全球很多经济体的必然趋势。 But as a global company, GE Healthcare sees how other countries address their challenges. Japan was the first major country to introduce “differential reimbursement” and to begin reimbursing CTs done on older, higher radiation dose equipment less. Australia followed suit about two years ago. Rather than making arbitrary cuts to reimbursement, the government can now reduce cost in a way that promotes better patient safety and outcomes. 作为一个全球化的公司，GE医疗已经见证了其他国家如何应对医疗支出的挑战。日本是世界上第一个执行“差异化报销”制度的发达国家，这种“差异化报销”制度鼓励医院使用新型的低剂量CT对病人进行检查。澳大利亚在2年前也执行了类似的“差异化报销”制度。“差异化报销”制度有其显著的优点：它鼓励医疗机构提供更安全、质量更高的检查，同时避免了“盲目一刀切”的误区。 Over the last several years, GE has invested over $800 million on radiation dose reduction, with new hardware, software, and workflow tools. Today, ASiR, robustly proven IR technology, can routinely reduce the dose by 50% and achieve high image quality worldwide. Now ASiR empowers the 16-rows, 64-rows and spectral CT. GSI ASiR can make the state of the art spectral imaging protocols the low dose one, which can benefits patients to have safer and higher quality vascular, oncology and urology scans. Brand new ASiR-V technology, cleared by FDA a week ago, raises the bar again to achieve 82% dose reduction without impacts on workflow. GE作为世界最大的医疗影像设备供应商，新的报销法案也激励着我们研发和制造更多的低剂量CT技术。在过去的几年里，GE投资了8亿美金用于研发低剂量的硬件、软件和流程管理工具。这些投入产生了令人激动的成果：得到广泛科学验证的ASiR迭代技术可以将CT剂量常规降低50%，同时保证高清的图像质量。如今ASiR广泛应用于GE生产的16排、64排和超高端能谱CT。GSI ASiR 成就了低剂量的能谱检查，这使病人能够接受更加安全和优质的血管、肿瘤和泌尿系统检查。一个星期前，FDA批准了一个全新的低剂量平台 ASiR-V，它可以将剂量继续降低82%，这确立了低剂量CT的全新标准。 Still, these changes will significantly impact our customers, and that means we have a crucial opportunity to reinforce the message that GE Healthcare is here to help – equipping clinicians with innovative, low dose CT technologies, solutions and training that provide each patient the right scan at the right time at the right dose. 新医保报销法案的实施将对医疗机构产生深远的影响，这同时也提供了一个机会，让GE和医疗机构一道，为病人提供更高质量、更安全的低剂量CT检查。
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