Medicare review, page-7

MRIs and X rays are both effective for many diagnostic purposes but the MRI has some advantages. An MRI costs $1500 to $4,000 while an x ray costs less than $100. The cost of MRIs and other scans to the Federal Budget has blown out in recent years and is considered unsustainable. As a taxpayer I support measures that will limit the use of expensive scans unless the additional benefit over simpler/cheaper procedures is commensurate with the (large) additional cost of the scans. I heard on the radio this morning that cutting back on barely effective MRI scans of the knee will save enough to fund a national suicide program that is estimated to be able to save 1000 lives per annum. How can i argue with that. The response from the industry will be to cut the costs and profits from MRIs, as happened in France where an MRI costs only $250. As a share holder of CAJ I can see that I will cop losses, but most have already been factored in.