Radiology has dodged a bullet with the passage of a the latest version of the Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act of 2007 that had provisions affecting medical imaging stripped out. But Congress could reprise the cuts in other legislation, an eventuality the American College of Radiology (ACR) of Reston, VA, said it would work to prevent.
On September 25, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a reconciled version of the bill that came out of a House and U.S. Senate conference committee, which would reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The $35 billion expansion of the SCHIP would be paid for by a 61 cent increase in the federal tobacco tax. The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation this week, although President George Bush has said he would veto the legislation.
Legislators on September 18 had stripped the provisions affecting medical imaging from the bill, but Medicare provisions may be addressed later in the year as a standalone bill or as amendments to a larger omnibus or appropriations bill, said ACR spokesperson Shawn Farley. The ACR continues to work with legislators and their staff in both the House and the Senate to address issues related to imaging raised in previous iterations of the bill, and to help Congress implement sensible medical imaging reimbursement policy, Farley said.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
September 26, 2007
Related Reading
CHAMP won't include Medicare provisions, September 20, 2007
U.S. Senate approves children's health bill, August 3, 2007
U.S. House passes kids health bill Bush opposes, August 3, 2007
CHAMP Act moves forward, passes U.S. House, August 2, 2007
SIR warns of 40% payment cut for IR, July 27, 2007
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