President’s
Day Recess Presents Critical Opportunity to Contact Congress While we were successful in preventing the 10 percent
cut to Medicare physician payment from taking place on Jan.
1, congressional intervention only delayed the cuts for six
months. The upcoming President's Day Congressional Recess
(Feb. 15-25) is a critical opportunity to reach out to members
of the Senate and impress on them the importance of meeting
their self-imposed deadline of July 1 for preventing cuts
to Medicare that will endanger the access to care of millions
of beneficiaries. The ACC urges all members to contact their
Senators and urge them to:
stop the payment cuts for 18 months;
provide a positive update through 2009 that covers the
increase in the cost of care;
pave the way for a permanent replacement of the physician
update formula; and
oppose cuts to medical imaging services and support policies
that foster imaging appropriateness and quality.
Go to www.acc.org/can
to take action or call the ACC’s toll free grassroots
hotline at 800-210-7193.
ACC
Supporting “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control
Act” The ACC encourages members to contact their lawmakers
in support of H.R. 1108/S. 625, the "Family Smoking Prevention
and Tobacco Control Act." This legislation, which the
ACC has long supported through its work with the Partners
for Effective Tobacco Policy (PARTNERS), would give the FDA
the authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, sale,
labeling, advertising and promotion of tobacco products to
protect the public health. The legislation has moved further
in this Congress than in the past and the goal is to achieve
enactment this year. The bill currently has 55 Senate cosponsors
and was approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions (HELP) Committee last summer. It h as 218 cosponsors
in the House and is expected to be marked up by the House
Energy and Commerce Committee this spring. It is sponsored
by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and John Cornyn (R-TX),
and Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Tom Davis (R-VA).
House
Resolution Designed to Raise Awareness of National Congenital
Heart Defects The ACC last week sent a letter to Rep. Robert Andrews
(D-NJ) thanking him for introducing H.Res. 858, which does
the following:
supports the goals and ideals of the National Congenital
Heart Defect Awareness Week sponsored by the Congenital
Heart Information Network;
supports efforts to reinvigorate research on congenital
heart defects and diseases (`CHDs') through increasing funding
for such research;
supports the education of parents and the medical community
on CHDs symptoms and on the importance of newborn screenings
for such symptoms;
encourages awareness of the often life-long medical, financial,
and emotional toll faced by CHDs victims, survivors, and
their loved ones; and
requests that President Bush issue a proclamation for
all Americans to acknowledge, celebrate and honor CHDs survivors,
families, medical professionals, and researchers.
ACC members are encouraged to contact their House
member and ask them to be a cosponsor of the resolution.
For more information on National Congenital Heart Defect Awareness
Week, go to: http://tchin.org/aware/facts.htm.
REGULATORY
FDA
Approves New Drug-Eluting Stent The FDA has approved the Endeavor Zotarolimus-Eluting
Coronary Stent. The Endeavor is the first drug-eluting stent
approved since 2004 and the first since FDA convened its Circulatory
System Devices Panel in 2006 to discuss evidence of the rare
risk of blood clots occurring in patients who receive drug-eluting
stents. The stent is manufactured by Medtronic, Inc., of Minneapolis.
For more information, go to: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01787.html.
QUALITY
Health
System Reform Takes Center Stage at ACC Summit The ACC held a highly successful Health System Reform
Summit Feb. 1 - 2 in Washington, D.C. The Summit brought together
leaders in the health care field, ACC members, industry, payers
and other health care organizations to discuss critical issues
facing health system reform, including financing, patient
needs, models for success and much more. In addition, the
ACC's Blue Ribbon Panel released a draft summary of findings
that will be fleshed out over the course of the next few months
to better define ACC's role in reforming the health system.
A reactor panel and breakout sessions encouraged thoughtful
discussion and feedback on what is needed to ensure physicians
have a seat at the table. Click
here for the final agenda. To learn more about the ACC’s
health system reform efforts and join discussions focused
on these issues visit: www.lewinreport.acc.org.
New
ACC Web Site Focuses on Health IT The ACC recently launched its new Web site focused
on health care technology. The site aims to:
Support ACC’s health information technology (HIT)
efforts to promote quality in cardiovascular health.
Provide education and useful resources to help promote
HIT adoption
Serve as a trusted source for information on healthcare
technology for ACC members.
Provide tools and programs to assist members in implementing
HIT, including e-Prescribing and EHR Toolkit sections.
The Healthcare Technology site also provides helpful information
on HIT organizations, terminology and acronyms. Bookmark the
site (www.acc.org/healthit).
You can also learn more at ACC.08 in Chicago by visiting the
ACC Central booth on the Expo floor.
ISO
Quality Ambassadors As the ACC ramps up its multi-year “Quality
First” outreach campaign around Health System Reform,
we are looking for volunteers to serve as “Quality First
Ambassadors” and speak at local Chapter meetings and/or
other ACC or quality-related events. We’re basically
talking about putting our ACC-AHA Guidelines and Performance
Measures into practice. We’re also launching two pilot
projects (paired with the NCDR) aimed at improving patient
medication compliance. Leading in promoting quality gets us
a “seat at the table” for health system reform,
but we can’t do it without your help. If you are interested
in participating in this very worthy endeavor, contact sfairban@acc.org.
