A bipartisan bill has been introduced calling for a two-year delay on cuts mandated by the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 in Medicare reimbursement for medical imaging exams conducted in nonhospital settings.
The legislation, H.R. 5704, was introduced Wednesday evening in the U.S. House of Representatives with 42 co-sponsors from both sides of the political aisle. The DRA, signed by President Bush on February 8 this year, mandates $2.8 billion be slashed from medical imaging payments over the next five years beginning in 2007.
The DRA 2005 accomplishes the savings by reducing reimbursement for the technical portion of MR, CT, and ultrasound exams on contiguous body parts in the same session by 25% over the next two years. In addition, the act cuts compensation for out-of-hospital imaging studies by capping the technical component reimbursement for physician-office imaging to the lesser amount of either the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) or the Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS), which threatens to reduce imaging center revenues by 30% or more.
H.R. 5704, also known as the Access to Medicare Imaging Act, was introduced by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), and seeks a two-year moratorium on the implementation of the cuts. It also calls for a comprehensive Government Accountability Office (GAO) study to analyze the impact of the DRA 2005's payment methodology on patient access, with special attention to rural and medically underserved areas.
The Washington, DC-based Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC), an advocacy group representing more than 75,000 physicians, providers, patients, and medical imaging manufacturers, noted that the medical imaging cuts were enacted without the normal process of hearings to allow members of the committees of jurisdiction the opportunity to assess comments from patients, physicians, researchers, and other experts on healthcare delivery.
The DRA has also been the subject of several lawsuits seeking to overturn the legislation on constitutionality grounds due to the manner in which it was signed. The House and Senate versions of the bill were different when President Bush signed them into law.
Congressman Pitts' bill joins that of Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), who introduced legislation (H.R. 5238) on April 27 this year to repeal the DRA 2005's cuts to Medicare reimbursement for imaging services.
According to the AMIC, the following members of the House of Representatives co-sponsored H.R. 5704:
|
Charles Bass (R-NH) Allen Boyd (D-FL) Robert Brady (R-PA) Lois Capps (D-CA) Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) Joseph Crowley (D-NY) JoAnn Davis (R-VA) Charlie Dent (R-PA) Phil English (R-PA) Anna Eshoo (D-CA) Mike Ferguson (R-NJ) Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) Paul Gillmor (R-OH) Charles Gonzalez (D-TX) Gene Green (D-TX) Ralph Hall (R-TX) Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) Jay Inslee (D-WA) William Jefferson (D-LA) Sam Johnson (R-TX) Steven LaTourette (R-OH) |
Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) Michael McNulty (D-NY) Jeff Miller (R-FL) Charlie Norwood (R-GA) Frank Pallone (D-NJ) John Peterson (R-PA) Chip Pickering (R-MS) Tom Price (R-GA) Jim Ramstad (R-MN) Mike Ross (D-AR) Jim Saxton (R-NJ) Joe Schwarz (R-MI) Pete Sessions (R-TX) John Shimkus (R-IL) Mark Souder (R-IN) Edolphus Towns (D-NY) Curt Weldon (R-PA) Jerry Weller (R-IL) Albert Wynn (D-MD) |
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
June 29, 2006
Related Reading
Strategic planning considerations and the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, June 27, 2005
House bill proposes repeal of DRA imaging cuts, May 3, 2006
House Democrats file suit against DRA, May 1, 2006
DRA 2005 in practice: Where the rubber meets the road, April 27, 2005
House resolution urges DRA investigation, March 31, 2006
Copyright © 2006 AuntMinnie.com
