July 30, 2009 - Patients and leading patient advocates from across the country, in partnership with the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA, a division of NEMA), gathered yesterday at the U.S. Capitol to call on Congress to reject proposed deep and arbitrary reimbursement cuts to imaging services that would devastate patient access to life-saving diagnostics, particularly in rural communities throughout America.
These groups convened to officially submit a letter from thirteen leading patient advocacy groups to the Senate Finance and House Tri-Committees urging members to adopt legislation that preserves access to diagnostic imaging.
The letter says that any “proposal to increase the utilization assumption for certain imaging equipment including CTs and MRIs will result in additional draconian cuts for imaging services. These additional cuts would come at a time when the GAO and other Medicare claims analyses have found that the deep cuts imposed by the Deficit Reduction Act have already significantly reduced Medicare spending on imaging (one analysis revealed that spending on advanced imaging is down 19.2%) and dramatically slowed the growth of advanced imaging services (the same study showed that the volume of these services has grown only 1.9 percent in the last year). Further cuts will undoubtedly reduce seniors’ access to these imaging services that are so important for detection, diagnosis and treatment.”
To read the letter in its entirety, go to: www.nema.org/media/upload/Advocate_Patient_Group_Letter-to-Congress.pdf.
