President Joseph Biden on December 3 signed legislation that averted a government shutdown through February 18, but the American College of Radiology (ACR) says the bill fails to protect the specialty from reimbursement cuts that will begin in the new year.
H.R. 6119, the "Further Extending Government Funding Act," did not include an extension of a 3.75% Medicare pay increase, which means that radiologists could be facing double-digit reductions in reimbursement on January 1, the ACR said.
The college has been urging Congress to protect imaging from payment decreases since November, when it sent a letter to congressional leaders as part of a coalition of more than 300 national and state healthcare provider organizations, writing that "maintaining [the pay increase] will provide much-needed stability for physician and nonphysician providers, as well as their patients." Now it is rallying its membership to do the same.
"ACR members are encouraged to contact their lawmakers today to urge Congressional leadership to provide continued stability for physicians by extending the 3.75% Medicare conversion factor increase through 2022," the college said. "This critical extension must be included in any viable year-end legislative package."
