The American College of Radiology (ACR) on September 13 submitted a statement to the congressional deficit reduction "supercommittee," asking for fairness in applying any cuts in Medicare reimbursement to all U.S. physicians, not just those in certain specialties.
The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction was created as part of the compromise between the Obama administration and Congress to find ways to cut $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade. If the supercommittee is unable to identify specific programs to cut, then across-the-board reductions will occur in programs ranging from Medicare to military spending. The panel held its first meeting on September 13, with the ACR submitting its letter on the same day.
The communiqué notes that recent efforts to cut federal health spending have repeatedly focused on advanced diagnostic imaging technologies such as CT, MRI, and PET. Cuts have come from the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, which cut spending on advanced imaging by 19.2% in 2007 alone, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which raised the equipment utilization rate to 75%. Regulatory changes implemented by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have also resulted in double-digit reductions in imaging reimbursement.
The reductions are making it more difficult for radiologists to keep their offices and freestanding imaging centers open, and as a result, patients are experiencing less access to imaging services, the ACR's letter claims. The letter concludes by urging the supercommittee to reject further cuts to medical imaging.
The supercommittee has until November 23 to make recommendations to the Senate and House of Representatives, with a December 23 deadline for a vote.
