The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) is warning members of new federal legislation that it claims could result in reimbursement cuts of up to 40% for minimally invasive surgical procedures, including interventional radiology.
The Fairfax, VA, society said that at midnight on July 24 the U.S. House of Representatives released legislation intended to "fix" the sustainable growth rate calculation in the Children's Health and Medicare Protection Act (CHAMP) of 2007 (H.R. 3162), which extends and expands funding for indigent children under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP).
The amendment does not recognize the difference between older, more invasive and less targeted therapies and newer, less invasive and more targeted treatments, SIR said. The legislation divides physician services into different categories, enacting six different conversion factors based on these categories.
The legislation would enact cuts of 21% for "other procedures," which would include minimally invasive surgeries, and cuts of 21% for imaging-related surgeries, resulting in an overall 40% cut in reimbursement, the society said. The result of the legislation would be to create an incentive for physicians to conduct open surgeries rather than minimally invasive therapies, the society said.
SIR is asking its members to contact their Congressional representatives and ask them to oppose the amendment.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
July 27, 2007
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