The American College of Radiology (ACR) has initiated a petition urging the Senate to repeal the flawed sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and find a permanent fix for Medicare physician payments, the Reston, VA-based organization said.
The SGR formula determines Medicare physician payment rates, and due to the permanent flaws in the formula, Congress has had to apply a temporary fix on a near-annual basis to ensure physicians are not faced with significant cuts to their Medicare reimbursement.
"The Senate continues to debate temporary fixes, despite repeated assurances that a permanent fix would come as part of healthcare reform," the ACR wrote in a statement. "While the patch is better than payment cuts, we need to make sure senators understand the need for a permanent fix is real, and without it, their constituents ... will potentially face access problems to timely imaging services."
The ACR urges all its members to sign the petition.
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