MITA, patient groups lobby against imaging cuts

Jul 29, 2009

A number of patient groups and the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA) gathered at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to lobby Congress to reject proposed imaging reimbursement cuts.

In a letter to the Senate Finance and House Tri-Committees, 13 patient advocacy groups urged members to adopt legislation to preserve access to diagnostic imaging, according to MITA of Arlington, VA.

The letter said that "any proposal to increase the utilization assumption for certain imaging equipment including CTs and MRIs will result in additional draconian cuts for imaging services. These additional cuts would come at a time when the GAO and other Medicare claims analyses have found that the deep cuts imposed by the Deficit Reduction Act have already significantly reduced Medicare spending on imaging (one analysis revealed that spending on advanced imaging is down 19.2%) and dramatically slowed the growth of advanced imaging services (the same study showed that the volume of these services has grown only 1.9% in the last year). Further cuts will undoubtedly reduce seniors' access to these imaging services that are so important for detection, diagnosis, and treatment."

Groups that signed the letter include the following: