Information provided below for the following Provider Plans

ANTHEM BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio)
BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF KANSAS CITY (Kansas City service area)
CARE CORE NATIONAL
HIGHMARK BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD (Western Pennsylvania)
OXFORD HEALTH PLANS
UNITED HEALTHCARE (Wisconsin)

ANTHEM BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD (INDIANA, KENTUCKY, OHIO)
June 2006 - Community Insurance Company d/b/a Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio, Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky, Inc. d/b/a Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Kentucky, and Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. d/b/a Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana now accepts Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Nuclear Medicine Laboratories (ICANL) from providers delivering nuclear cardiology, nuclear medicine and PET imaging services. In addition they accept Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Magnetic Resonance Laboratories (ICAMRL) from providers delivering MRI services.

BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF KANSAS CITY (BCBSKC)
March 2006 - Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City (BCBSKC) has introduced a radiology privileging criteria program to practitioner groups within its service area, stating that "criteria implementation to all practitioner group sites will enhance service quality and safety of the diagnostic imaging studies delivered to our members and your patients." The objective of BCBSKC's privileging program is to "facilitate and promote an interrelated group of operational and professional criteria to ensure that practitioner groups providing CT, MR, plain film and PET services to membership are equipped and proficient to extend quality-driven service, technologically sound delivery and expertise within a safe and efficient environment.

HIGHMARK BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD (PENNSYLVANIA)
In a July 13, 2004 letter to providers, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield announced that, effective January 1, 2005, all providers of diagnostic imaging services performed outside of a hospital setting will be required to adhere to new privileging guidelines. As detailed below, guidelines now exist related to each of the accrediting bodies within the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission: the ICANL, the ICAEL and the ICAVL.

According to Augusta L. Kairys, Vice President of Provider Relations for Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, "These guidelines have been developed to promote reasonable and consistent quality and safety standards for the provision of imaging services." The new privileging guidelines apply to most Highmark health plans in Western Pennsylvania (29 counties). Highmark plans to implement the program in Central Pennsylvania (21 counties) at a later date. Highmark has signed an agreement with National Imaging Associates, Inc., a national radiology management company, to help implement the program.

View the new Highmark Privileging Guidelines. >>

Read the Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield press release. >>

CARE CORE NATIONAL
Outpatient diagnostic imaging utilization management company for HIP, Aetna and GHI requires all Nuclear Cardiology laboratories to be accredited effective February 2, 2004. For more information, visit the Care Core National website.

UNITED HEALTHCARE (WISCONSIN)
Effective July 1, 2003, Wisconsin is the first state to link reimbursement to accreditation, according to a policy by United Healthcare of Wisconsin. The full story appears in the ICANL Newsletter article, Wisconsin To Require ICANL Nuclear Cardiology Accreditation, Fall 2000.

OXFORD HEALTH PLANS
It is important to note that Oxford Health Plans requires its nuclear cardiology laboratories to be accredited by either the ICANL or the ACR to receive reimbursement for nuclear cardiology claims. Oxford Health Plans announced that all physicians must meet one of the following standards effective February 2, 2004 in order to be reimbursed for nuclear cardiology procedures:

• 1. Certified by the Certification Board for Nuclear Cardiology (CBNC)
• 2. Board certified in Nuclear Medicine by the American Board of Nuclear Medicine (ABNM)
• 3. Board certified in Radiology by the American Board of Radiology (ABR)

Go to www.ICANL.org for additional information