Thirty U.S. senators are imploring Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-IA) to oppose additional medical imaging reimbursement reductions in formulating Medicare legislation.
The November 1 letter, originally drafted by U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), seeks to prevent a repeat of the cuts that were included in the original version of the Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act of 2007 as passed by the House of Representatives in August. An initial version of the bill would have implemented reductions of up to 40% for procedures like interventional radiology, but the cuts affecting medical imaging were ultimately removed prior to final passage. President George W. Bush ultimately vetoed the CHAMP Act.
The letter seeks to head off a replay of the CHAMP imbroglio by pointing out that medical imaging has already suffered from "$13 billion of recently implemented cuts in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.... We hope that you will oppose additional cuts to these critical medical services proposed by the House."
The message comes as some lawmakers work to halt a 10% cut in overall physician reimbursement proposed under the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
November 6, 2007
Related Reading
ACR to oppose future CHAMP-like cuts, September 26, 2007
CHAMP won't include Medicare provisions, September 20, 2007
U.S. Senate approves children's health bill, August 3, 2007
U.S. House passes kids health bill Bush opposes, August 3, 2007
CHAMP Act moves forward, passes U.S. House, August 2, 2007
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