Senators Rockefeller and G. Smith reintroduce their legislation preserving the value of-and access to-medical imaging services for seniors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tim Trysla
(202) 756-3420
Washington, DC - May 9, 2007 - Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) late yesterday introduced the Access to Medicare Imaging Act of 2007 (S. 1338), bipartisan legislation calling for a two year moratorium of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) imaging cuts that went into effect the first of this year.
"We are very concerned that patients who depend upon imaging services outside of the hospital setting, especially those patients in rural and underserved areas, will be particularly hard hit," explained Senator Rockefeller. "Given the haste in which the DRA '05 legislation was crafted, it is imperative that we institute a two year delay to allow enough time for a thorough analysis by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). We should have a better understanding of the complexities and impacts brought about by these cuts before moving forward with a potentially damaging policy," noted Senator Smith.
Steven A. Artz, M.D., Professor of Medicine, WVU College of Medicine and Chair of the WV Chapter of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) has seen first hand the negative affect of DRA cuts on patient care. "Medicare cuts to diagnostic imaging services have caused payments to go far below the costs to provide these procedures." In fact, explained Artz, "a local community Women's Health Clinic in Charleston has stopped performing osteoporosis screening and treatment services altogether because they can no longer afford to do the procedures. Our University practice in Charleston is concerned about whether we can handle the influx of elderly patients for these services and if patients will travel across town to our facility."
A February 2007 Moran Company report, Assessing the Deficit Reduction Act Limits on Imaging Reimbursement: Cross-Site Comparisons of Cost and Reimbursement Pre and Post DRA, found that the cuts in Medicare imaging payments under DRA '05 will mean that total Medicare reimbursement for imaging services in physician offices and imaging centers will fall an estimated 18 to 19 percent below total reimbursement for similar services in hospital outpatient departments. "The reality is," said AMIC (Access to Medical Imaging Coalition) Executive Director Tim Trysla, "that the DRA itself has created a massive imbalance and inequity in the Medicare program. The result is that patients who receive imaging in physician offices and imaging centers are now facing the very real likelihood of reduced access for these services. We applaud both the Senators, as well as their colleagues in the House, for their commitment to roll back these devastating cuts."
Similar legislation was introduced last month in the House by Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), Representative Joseph Pitts (R-PA) and Representative Gene Green (D-TX) and already has the support of 60 cosponsors.
"We see, everyday, the enormous advances in patient care medical imaging provides-reduced hospitalizations, less invasive procedures, faster healing times, more accurate diagnoses. It was never the intention of Congress to deny patients this necessary technology. But the cuts brought about by DRA '05 threaten to do just that," said Trysla. "This legislation represents a critical step in studying, and then correcting for, the DRA cuts; cuts that represent a poorly conceived legislative fix that has the potential to cause long term harm for many Medicare beneficiaries."
AMIC represents more than 75,000 physicians, providers and patients, as well as medical imaging manufacturers who employ tens of thousands of workers. See below for a list of AMIC members.
To learn more about AMIC, and to access a copy of the Moran report, please visit: www.imagingaccess.org.
AMIC Members Include:
| Academy of Molecular Imaging Academy of Radiology Research Advanced Medical Technology Association Alliance for Aging Research Alzheimer's Disease International American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists American Association of Physicists in Medicine American College of Cardiology American College of Radiation Oncology American College of Radiology American Federation for Aging Research American Radiology Associates American Radiology Services American Society of Clinical Oncology American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Association for Freestanding Radiation Oncology Centers Cardiology Advocacy Alliance Coalition for Imaging and Bioengineering Research Colon Cancer Alliance CSCM, Inc. Denver Integrated Imaging Denver Integrated Imaging-North | Denver Integrated Imaging-South Diagnostic MRI Diagnostic MRI--Central E+Healthcare HealthSouth Institute for Molecular Technology Integral PET Lung Cancer Alliance Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (a division of NEMA) National Coalition for Quality Diagnostic Imaging Services National Osteoporosis Foundation National Ovarian Cancer Coalition National Patient Advocate Foundation National Stroke Association Northside Open MRI Radiology Corporation of America Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography Society for Vascular Surgery Society for Vascular Ultrasound Society of Interventional Radiology Society of Nuclear Medicine Strategic Outpatient Services, Inc. Trident Molecular Imaging US Oncology Westside Open MRI |