AMIC Says House Lacks Understanding on Imaging Cuts

The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC), a broad coalition of physicians, patients, and providers working to delay $8 billion of imaging payment reductions included in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act, said understanding regarding the impact of the DRA 2005 cuts on imaging services at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing.
“Even though today's hearing was not focused on DRA-'05 imaging payment reductions, Members of Congress repeatedly expressed concern over how the DRA cuts will affect patients, including those in rural and medically underserved areas,” said Tim Trysla, executive director of AMIC. Many House Representatives are urging passage of H.R. 5704, a bill calling for a two-year moratorium on the DRA cuts while the Government Accountability Office analyzes the impact on patients.
CMS director of Medicare Management, Herb Kuhn, recognized that the agency had not conducted a detailed analysis of offsetting savings and efficiencies brought about by imaging substituting more invasive and costly procedures, and that it would consider the potential impact on patient access when developing regulations to implement the DRA reductions.