The American Medical Association (AMA) said it recently contacted two congressmen, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX), to push for their support in passing the Diagnostic Imaging Services Protection Act (HR 3269, S 2347), legislation sponsored by the American College of Radiology (ACR).
The bill would block a 25% multiple procedure payment reduction (MPPR) in the professional component of advanced diagnostic imaging services.
The AMA's support reflects concern throughout the medical field about the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' flawed payment policies that are based on little supportable data and suggest a lack of understanding about how radiology is practiced in the U.S., said Paul Ellenbogen, chief of ACR's board of chancellors.
To date, the proposed law has bipartisan support from 268 co-sponsors in the house and 17 in the Senate, including Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Sen. Richard Burr, ACR said.
