Congress Has Narrow Window to Address Payment
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. ACC members are strongly encouraged 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. 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.

Health System Reform Summit Now on CVN
The ACC held a highly successful Health System Reform Summit earlier this month 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. Watch coverage from the Summit now on CVN! To learn more visit http://lewinreport.acc.org.

Who’s the Healthiest Candidate?
Where does much of our news content come from these days anyway? I’ve seen a dozen op-eds this month reporting authoritatively that Hillary and Barack have nearly identical health reform concepts. Where do these lame analyses come from? The two candidates have very different approaches, with different strengths, weaknesses and implications for medicine. Read more and join the discussion at http://lewinreport.acc.org.

CMS Report Projects Significant Increase in U.S. Health Care Spending
Growth in health care spending in the United States is projected to be 6.7 percent in 2007, according to a report issued this week by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Average annual growth is expected to remain near that rate through 2017, nearly doubling government spending on health care to more than $2 trillion. According to the study, Medicare "will take up 20.7 percent of national health spending by 2017" due to increased healthcare spending for baby boomers. "The cost of healthcare continues to be a real and pressing concern," says Kerry Weems, CMS acting administrator. “Making sure we are paying for high quality health care services, not just the number of services provided, is just one of the most critical issues facing the American public and the federal government now and in the future." The study is published in Health Affairs and more information is available at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/03_NationalHealthAccountsProjected.asp.

ACC Endorses CCHIT
The ACC this month officially endorsed the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT). The ACC has been a supporter of CCHIT since the outset through promotion and contributions by ACC members to the Commission’s work. In addition, three ACC members participate on the CCHIT Cardiovascular Expert Panel and fully support the work of CCHIT on the cardiovascular profile. The official endorsement of CCHIT, further underscores the ACC's support of the CCHIT mission to accelerate the adoption of HIT by creating a valuable product certification program. Meanwhile, for more on the ACC’s Health Care Technology efforts, visit www.acc.org/healthit.