August 2006 | Vol. 24, No. 8

Groups Testify Against DRA Imaging Cuts

According to an article in the July 19 edition of the AuntMinnie.com radiology website, several physicians' groups and practitioners spoke out against diagnostic imaging payment reductions as outlined in the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 in a hearing on July 18 before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. SVU decided not to testify at this hearing.

Offering testimony against the proposed reimbursement reductions were representatives of the American College of Radiology; Duke University Medical Center; National Imaging Associates; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Baylor University Medical Center; the American Society of Radiologic Technologists; the Center for Diagnostic Imaging; and Siemens Medical Solutions on behalf of the Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC), of which SVU is an active participant.

According to the Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC), a coalition of physicians, patients, and providers working to delay $8 billion of imaging payment reductions included in the DRA 2005, many of the representatives on the panel urged passage of H.R. 5704, a bill introduced by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) and and co-sponsored by 68 other members of Congress calling for a two-year moratorium on the DRA cuts while the Government Accountability Office analyzes the impact on patients.

The AMIC representative reported that in response to questions from the subcommittee, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) Chairman Glenn Hackbarth said MedPAC had not proposed the DRA cuts and has not evaluated the potential impact of the cuts on growth in utilization of imaging or on patients. Herb Kuhn, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Director of Medicare management, also said that CMS had not proposed the DRA cuts and had not yet evaluated their potential impact on patients. He said that the agency would take the potential impact on patient access into account when developing regulations to implement the DRA reductions, AMIC said.

Kuhn also admitted to the subcommittee that CMS had not yet conducted a detailed analysis of offsetting savings and efficiencies brought about by the substitution of imaging for more invasive and costly procedures, according to AMIC.