With 118th U.S. Congress House and Senate members scheduled to return to work November 12, the American College of Radiology released a review of the top three pieces of legislation for year-end consideration and industry support:
- The Medicare Patient Access and Practice Stabilization (MPAPS) Act of 2024 (HR 10073), and/or similar legislation in the Senate, would eliminate the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) conversion factor reduction and add an update equivalent to one half of the Medicare Economic Index for 2025, according to the ACR.
“Congress must act on this bill before it adjourns at the end of the year to increase the conversion factor and help ensure that radiology practices and all healthcare providers can continue to offer high-quality care," stated ACR CEO Dana Smetherman, MD, in the bulletin. - The Enhanced Enforcement of Health Coverage Act (HR 9572) would strengthen the enforcement of the No Surprises Act by financially penalizing health insurance companies that fail to pay physicians within 30 days of the conclusion of the independent dispute resolution ruling.
- The Find It Early Act (HR 3086) would improve early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer when it is most treatable by guaranteeing insurance coverage for supplemental breast imaging at no cost to the patient.
In addition, the ACR continues to advocate for a legislative fix to ensure the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA) appropriate use criteria (AUC) program is implemented. ACR said it has proposed legislative language that would enable CMS to implement the AUC program.
Read the full ACR November 7 bulletin here.
