April 25, 2005

IMAGING

Rhode Island Bills on the Move
The Rhode Island House Committee on Corporations approved two bills impacting the delivery of imaging services. The first bill, which is supported by the ACC, would amend Rhode Island law to permit accreditation by any national recognized organization instead of requiring accreditation by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The Committee also approved legislation that would apply the certificate of need process to medical equipment used for magnetic resonance imaging services, positron emission tomography services and computer tomography scan services regardless of cost. The ACC is working closely with its Rhode Island Chapter on these two bills.

California Imaging Bill Introduced
After a recent legislative victory, the California Chapter of the ACC faces another onerous piece of imaging legislation. A bill was introduced last week that prohibits any person other than a qualified diagnostic radiologist from billing for diagnostic imaging procedures under workers compensation. The bill instructs physicians treating patients who may be suffering from a job-related injury to refer the patient to a qualified diagnostic radiologist who the physician believes can best perform the required imaging services. The ACC opposes this bill and will work with other members of the Coalition for Patient-Centered Imaging (CPCI) to ensure this legislation does not move forward.

If you are interested in helping the ACC fight state and federal bills that restrict imaging services by qualified providers, visit http://www.acc.org/advocacy/advocacy.htm and click on the Cardio Advocacy Network (CAN). CAN members are the ACC’s key contacts on legislative issues that affect cardiovascular specialists, including imaging ownership and referral, Medicare physician payments and medical liability reform. Join CAN now to protect your patients and your practice.

REIMBURSEMENT

Reimbursement Survey Reminder
As part of a mandated review of CPT codes, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be surveying physicians in early May to determine actual work times for procedures. Every ACC member who receives a survey should respond immediately to ensure that cardiovascular services are appropriately valued. Survey results will be used to determine reimbursement for the next five years.

Medical Liability Bill Goes to Arizona Governor
The Arizona legislature recently passed a bill that would place restrictions on expert witnesses who testify in malpractice lawsuits. The legislation stipulates that only licensed health care providers in the same specialty as the defendant could serve as expert witnesses in malpractice lawsuits. The bill currently awaits approval by Gov. Janet Napolitano.

HHS Considers Penalties for HIPAA Violations
On April 18, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a proposal that outlines the basis for liability and procedures for imposing civil money penalties for practices that violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Administrative Simplification Rules. The proposed rule would amend the existing rules relating to the investigation of noncompliance and issuing monetary penalties to make them apply to all of the HIPAA Administrative Simplification rules, rather than exclusively to the privacy standards. HHS is seeking comment on the proposed rule by June 17. Click here to read the HHS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

Patients Will Evaluate Hospitals with CMS Survey
Patients will soon have a say in how their hospital performs thanks to a survey under development by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The survey differs from traditional hospital report cards, which gather clinical data on best practices and patient outcomes, by measuring the overall experience of a patient’s stay. The survey is intended to provide a standard tool for patients to evaluate their stay, from interactions with health care professionals to the cleanliness of hospital facilities. CMS intends the survey to be voluntarily implemented by hospitals, but has not excluded the possibility of using the survey to calculate hospital reimbursement.