CMS
Proposes 11% Payment Cut for Cardiology The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) today released
its proposed 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which includes
policy proposals that would significantly reduce payments
for cardiovascular-related services. CMS projects that the
proposed changes would reduce total Medicare payments to cardiology
by 11 percent. The projected payment cut would result from
changes to the following areas: practice expense calculation;
equipment utilization rates; malpractice rate calculation;
and payment for consultations. In addition, CMS proposes a
21.5 percent reduction in the Medicare conversion factor due
to the flawed sustainable growth rate.
In short,
there could be as high as a 30 percent cut in Medicare payments
for cardiology. Taken together with the payment cuts cardiology
has already experienced, CMS’ proposed rule represents
a grave threat to cardiology practices and the patients they
serve. The ACC and our partners are prepared to wage an aggressive
campaign to prevent implementation of these damaging policies.
The ACC urges its members to contact their lawmakers and ask
them to prevent these payment policies that will result in
devastating cuts. You can reach your members using the ACC’s
toll-free grassroots hotline (800-210-7193) or at www.acc.org/can.
Detailed information is available on the ACC
Web site, and more information will be provided over the
coming weeks. For questions, please contact advocacydiv@acc.org.
Comparative
Effectiveness Research Recommendations Released The
Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness
Research (CER) recently released recommendations to the Department
of Health and Human Services for the $400 million in funds
allotted for comparative effectiveness research. The report
is mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Council was charged by Congress with the task of identifying
key areas of CER where funding could make the greatest impact
to improve health outcomes for our nation. The report includes
a CER definition, criteria for determining which research
projects should be a priority, and a strategic framework to
identify gaps and future priorities.
The report
recommends that CER focus on the needs of priority populations
such as racial and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities,
persons with multiple chronic conditions, the elderly and
children. It also recommends the research be in specific high-impact
health arenas such as medical and assistive devices, surgical
procedures, behavioral interventions and prevention. The report
is available online.
MedPAC
Release Report on Payment Reform
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission recently released
its June 2009 report to Congress, which focused on “Improving
Incentives in the Medicare Program.” The report discusses
how Medicare can change its incentive structure to reward
for health care value rather than volume of procedures. The
report recommends the following potential changes: testing
the medical home concept; bundled payments across existing
payment systems; and the creation of accountable care organizations,
either voluntary or mandatory. Unfortunately, the report also
suggests that imaging self-referral leads to higher spending.
The ACC will work with Congress in coming months to ensure
that changes made to the payment system reward value rather
than volume while protecting members’ ability to provide
appropriate medical imaging for patients. The MedPAC report
is available online.
In related
news, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) today released its “Initial
National Priorities for Comparative Effectiveness Research,”
which outlines recommendations relative to national priorities
for the type of research questions to be addressed by CER.
More information is available on the IOM
Web site.
QUALITY
ACC
to the President: What about Quality? President
Barack Obama on Wednesday held an online town hall to answer
questions about health care reform submitted by the American
public. Questions submitted ranged in topic area — from
quality to costs to access — and hundreds were submitted.
The ACC questioned
the President about his plans to incorporate quality into
efforts to control costs, and responded to the town hall in
a short video, which is available on ACC’s blog, The
Lewin Report. Watch the video on the town hall on
The
Lewin Report, and respond with what questions you
think the President missed and what you would like to see
happen with health care reform.
HHS
Releases State-by-State Health Care Reports Health
and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on June
26 released a series of new reports on each state’s
health care status. The reports include information on health
care cost and quality, such as the percent increase in family
premiums since 2000, the percent of state residents without
insurance and the overall quality ratings for each state.
The reports are available at www.HealthReform.gov.
