Medical imaging industry lobbying group Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA) has named a new executive director. The group is also voicing opposition to President Barack Obama's proposed 2013 federal budget.
MITA announced on February 13 that Gail Rodriguez, PhD, has been named executive director, replacing David Fisher. In her new role, Rodriguez will be responsible for all day-to-day activities at MITA.
Rodriguez has also become a vice president at the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), MITA's parent organization. She was previously a director of policy at MITA, where she oversaw the x-ray imaging products section. Rodriguez also directed the MITA PET Working Group.
In other staff moves, MITA and NEMA have named Charles Konigsberg as chief of strategy and policy. Konigsberg has served in senior-level positions in the U.S. Senate, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and nonprofit organizations.
MITA has also promoted director of government relations Lindsay Morris to senior director. Morris will enhance MITA's outreach and advocacy efforts with lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill, according to MITA.
In other MITA news, the group is objecting to proposals in President Obama's proposed 2013 budget that it says would harm patient access to medical imaging and would impede the creation of jobs in advanced manufacturing.
MITA said that the budget's cuts to Medicare reimbursement and implementation of a prior authorization system through radiology benefits management (RBMs) firms will negatively affect health outcomes and lead to more healthcare spending. The budget proposals are also contrary to the president's stated goal of spurring advanced manufacturing, the group said in a statement.
The budget proposals would impede access to physician-prescribed care, according to MITA. As evidence, MITA pointed to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) recent confirmation of a decline in imaging use in 2010, a more than 13% decline in Medicare imaging spending per beneficiary since 2006, and a past assertion by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that RBMs would not work in the Medicare program.
As a result, Congress should reject these imaging budget proposals, Rodriguez said.
