FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robin Strongin, 703-516-7382
Ron Geigle, 703-516-7382
WASHINGTON, DC - November 9, 2006 - Changes in the control and political make-up of Congress will not change the commitment of the medical imaging community to delay cuts in Medicare reimbursement for medical imaging services, according to the Access to Medical Imaging Coalition. The group represents 39 patient, provider, physician, and manufacturer groups who are supporting legislation to delay the imaging reimbursement cuts, which were passed in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act and are scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2007.
"Medicare cuts in imaging services aren't Democrat or Republican; they aren't liberal or conservative," said AMIC Executive Director Tim Trysla. "What they are, however, is harmful and excessive, and they are going to hurt Medicare patients regardless of whether they live in red states or blue states. AMIC is going to roll up its sleeves and work with members of all parties to delay these cuts for two years so that Congress can truly understand how they will affect Medicare patients."
AMIC supports passage of the Access to Medicare Imaging Act (HR 5704, S 3795) which would delay implementation of the cuts in imaging reimbursement for two years while the Government Accountability Office studies the impact of the cuts on Medicare patients, particularly those in rural and medically underserved areas.
"We will work to pass this legislation during the post-election session of Congress and, if necessary, in the new session of Congress starting in January," said Trysla. "Among the more than 150 members of the House and the Senate who have co-sponsored this bill, we have lots of Democrats and lots of Republicans. And we have lots of support among the people who will be affected—patients, physicians, and providers. We will work together, and we will succeed."
Trysla said that one of the themes that AMIC will underscore in its continuing efforts is that the final rules recently issued by CMS on the Physician Fee Schedule and Hospital Outpatient Payment systems did nothing to mitigate the damaging imaging cuts passed by Congress. "After you clear away all the rhetoric, the bottom line is obvious: Massive reductions in payment for imaging services ranging from cancer care to heart treatments," said Trysla. "There's no logic, no reason, no evaluation—but there it is."
AMIC represents more than 75,000 patients, physicians, and medical providers throughout the U.S. It also includes health technology firms that manufacture imaging equipment and supplies and that employ tens of thousands of workers.
For more information, go to www.imagingaccess.org.