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U.S. MRI volumes near 40 million a year, complicating workers’ comp costs

A NIST report projects MRI volumes will reach about 40 million scans annually, while reimbursement rates in workers’ compensation have fallen, raising pressure to shorten imaging timelines.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Health Insurance

MRI use in the United States is surging again, with volumes expected to reach roughly 40 million scans annually, according to a National Institute of Standards and Technology report cited in a sponsored piece published by Risk & Insurance.

The story notes that after MRI volumes dipped during the pandemic, they rebounded quickly, falling to about 27.4 million scans in 2020 before rising to 34.7 million in 2022, and it points to longer-run growth from about 24.2 million MRIs completed in 2003 to 39 million in 2018.

For workers’ compensation payers, Risk & Insurance highlights a focus on how quickly imaging can be used to guide care decisions and potentially reduce claim costs that can compound when studies take longer to complete.

The piece says MRI reimbursement in workers’ compensation has moved in the opposite direction, citing fee schedule compression tied to Medicare relative value unit changes that began around 2013 to 2014. It also points to state variation, including California where the maximum allowable reimbursement for a lumbar spine MRI fell from about $700 in 2014 to $333 today, while New York places it around $1,000, and notes that five states operate without formal fee schedules.

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