Legislation Introduced to Protect Seniors’ Access to Lifesaving Imaging Care
The American College of Radiology (ACR) strongly urges all members of the U.S. Senate to vote for passage of the Access to Medicare Imaging Act of 2007 (S. 1338), the bipartisan legislation calling for a two-year moratorium on drastic medical imaging reimbursement cuts included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) and a comprehensive Government Accountability Office (GAO) study to analyze the impact of the DRA cuts on patient access to lifesaving medical imaging care. S. 1338 was submitted to the Senate on May 8 by Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) as well 14 co-sponsors* both Democrat and Republican.
The GAO study called for by the bill is particularly vital in light of July 2006 congressional testimony by the heads of both the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) that neither body recommended the DRA cuts to Congress nor conducted any study as to their effect on patient access to care prior to passage of the DRA.
“I am pleased that both houses of Congress will now address these arbitrary and ill-advised cuts, which were slipped into the DRA at the last minute by those with little or no idea what effect the cuts would have on patient care. I urge the Senate and the House to pass the Access to Medicare Imaging Act before these drastic cuts irreparably damage patient access to care,” said Arl Van Moore, M.D., chair of the ACR Board of Chancellors.
“I believe the $8 billion in imaging cuts were prematurely added to the Deficit Reduction Act in order to meet a budget target and were not based on sound public policy. These cuts represent almost a third of the total savings included in the Deficit Reduction Act, yet they were never debated by Congress,” said Senator Rockefeller. “Physicians need imaging technology to ensure the best possible health outcomes for their patients, and they deserve to be fairly compensated for providing their patients access to this revolutionary technology.”
The DRA imaging provisions, which became effective January 1, arbitrarily capped the technical component reimbursement for physician office imaging to the lesser of the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System or Medicare Fee Schedule payment, slashing reimbursement by up to 50 percent for many life-saving technologies, such as CT angiography and brain or spine MRI.
These drastic cuts may force many physicians to stop offering much needed imaging services or limit the number of Medicare patients they receive. The cuts may also discourage research and development of new imaging technologies that are increasingly replacing more invasive (and more costly) techniques. Medicare beneficiaries, particularly in rural areas, may be forced to endure increased wait and travel times to receive imaging services and higher copayments.
“These cuts are so drastic and far reaching that, for many imaging providers, it may no longer be a choice of which services can be provided, but whether they are able to keep the practice open at all. The DRA imaging cuts are not good policy and their effects may be felt by patients and providers for years to come,” said Moore.
“For individuals living in rural or medically underserved areas … imaging technology is particularly important. Without these technologies, many individuals would be denied much needed treatment and invaluable peace of mind. Sadly, provisions included as part of the DRA leave some of our most vulnerable citizens at risk by jeopardizing their access to these imaging services,” said Senator Rockefeller. “We cannot stand by and allow our elderly and disabled to suffer so that we can meet an arbitrary budget target. I urge my colleagues to join with us in supporting this timely legislation,” said Senator Rockefeller.
Similar legislation was introduced last month in the House by Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), Representative Joseph Pitts (R-Pa.) and Representative Gene Green (D-Texas). The House bill already has more than 90 cosponsors.
True Impact of DRA Cuts
A recent report by the highly respected Moran Company finds that the cuts in Medicare imaging payments under the DRA will mean that the total Medicare reimbursement for imaging services in physician offices and imaging centers will fall an estimated 18 percent to 19 percent below total reimbursement for similar services in hospital outpatient departments.
The report also found that, in 2007, 89 percent of the services affected by the DRA limits will be paid at rates less than the estimated cost of performing the service in the physician office setting.
The ACR has provided on its Web site, templates that allow individual facilities to insert their own data to calculate the impact of the DRA cuts on their practice. Those who take advantage of this tool are encouraged to share their data with the ACR in order to better educate Congress on the impact of these cuts.
The ACR has also joined a broad coalition of patient advocacy groups, medical manufacturers, and providers to form the Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC). AMIC represents more than 75,000 physicians, providers, and patients, as well as medical imaging manufacturers who employ tens of thousands of workers.
To read the Moran report mentioned above, an update of a similar analysis by The Moran Company in September 2006, in its entirety, please visit the AMIC Web site.
For more information regarding the Access to Medicare Imaging Act of 2007 or the DRA, as well as the latest on the ACR’s efforts to oppose the DRA imaging reimbursement cuts, please visit the “Imaging Under Attack” section of the ACR Web site.
*Original Co-sponsors: Sens. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.).