Legislation Introduced in Congress to Address DRA Reimbursement Cuts

U.S. Representative Joe Pitts (R-PA) on June 28, 2006 introduced the Access to Medical Imaging Act (H.R. 5704) in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill calls for a two-year “budget neutral” moratorium on the drastic cuts in payments for Medicare medical imaging services included in the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005, which was passed by Congress in February 2006 and signed into law that month by the President. A similar bill is expected to be introduced soon in the U.S. Senate. The DRA payment cuts for vascular ultrasound studies are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2007.

The bill also calls for a comprehensive Government Accountability Office (GAO) study to analyze the impact of the DRA’s payment methodology on patient access and service issues relating to the availability and quality of imaging services in physician offices and freestanding vascular labs, with special attention to rural and medically underserved areas.

“A two-year moratorium is absolutely essential in order to give Congress a chance to fully understand exactly how cuts of this magnitude could affect Medicare beneficiaries’ access to imaging services,” said Congressman Pitts.

Rep. Pitts’ bill is strongly supported by the Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC), of which SVU is an active participant. The AMIC represents more than 75,000 physicians, providers and patients, as well as medical imaging manufacturers. (See www.imagingaccess.org for more information on the Coalition.)

The AMIC said in a press release on the introduction of H.R. 5704 that these DRA cuts were enacted by Congress without any research or substantive background, or without the normal process of hearings to allow members of the committees of jurisdiction the opportunity to assess the comments from patients, their doctors, researchers and other experts on health care delivery. The AMIC looks forward to working with all Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to find workable options that balance fiscal common sense with patient access.

If the legislation is passed by Congress this year and signed by the President, the DRA cuts would be delayed for two years, but subsequent legislative action would be required by Congress to permanently reverse those cuts. If the legislation is not approved by Congress, CMS retains the authority to adjust reimbursement rates to soften the blow to the medical imaging community and thus ensure patient access.

Currently there are 68 cosponsors of H.R. 5704. To find out if your U.S. Representative is a cosponsor of H.R. 5704, go to http://thomas.loc.gov website and enter the Bill number (H.R. 5704) in the box, click on Bill number, and then click on Search. When the Bill comes up, click on Bill Summary & Status and then click on cosponsors.

On August 3 a similar bill (S. 3795) was introduced in the Senate that also calls for a two-year moratorium on the deep Medicare payment cuts in medical imaging services included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The Senate bill also calls for a General Accountability Office (GAO) study on the effects of the proposed cuts on patients, especially those living in rural areas. There are now 7 co-sponsors of S. 3795.

SVU continues to work actively both on legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts regarding the proposed DRA reimbursement cuts for vascular ultrasound studies. SVU will notify our members of opportunities to get involved and contact your Members of Congress.