American College of Cardiology

ACC Members to Meet with Lawmakers This Month

Over 200 ACC members will gather in Washington, D.C., on Sept 14-16 to educate Congress about ACC’s important work in improving quality and promoting evidence-based care. Participants will discuss with their national representatives the need for health system reform and incentives to encourage the adoption of health information technology. In addition, participants will thank their lawmakers for passing an 18-month fix to the Medicare payment update and communicate the importance of long-term reform to the Medicare physician payment system.

ACC Comments on the Proposed 2009 Physician Fee Schedule

The ACC this week sent several comment letters to acting Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Kerry Weems in regards to the proposed 2009 Physician Fee Schedule. In the first letter, the ACC submitted comments on several provisions of the rule, including malpractice RVUs, coding issues, hospital-acquired conditions, PQRI, EHR reporting, registry reporting and multiple procedure payment reduction. In a second letter signed by other CV societies, the ACC addressed the independent diagnostic testing facilities (IDTF) and anti-markup provisions. The letter states the serious concerns held by the cardiovascular community with the agency’s current proposal. ACC’s comment letter is posted here and the joint comment letter is posted here.

A third comment letter led by the American Medical Association and signed by the ACC requested that CMS withdraw both the delayed anti-markup provisions in the 2008 Physician Fee Schedule and the current proposal. The ACC and other groups believe that the anti-markup rule should not be applied to any diagnostic test that is provided directly by a physician group practice to Medicare patients in compliance with the restrictions imposed by current federal law.

CMS Names NCDR® as Qualified Registry for 2008 PQRI

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on Wednesday that ACC's National Cardiovascular Data Registry® (NCDR) has qualified to submit aggregate data for the 2008 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI). The CMS announcement is the first time an alternative mechanism to claims-based data has been authorized for reporting for PQRI since the program's launch. As a result of the announcement, physicians whose patient data is captured as part of NCDR®’s new IC3 Program® can request that the NCDR® report on their behalf to meet CMS’ 2008 PQRI requirements. The IC3 Program® is the first office-based registry designed to provide physicians with the most current, nationally-recognized best practices for cardiac care. The NCDR currently is not providing physician reports from any of the hospital-based registries (i.e, ACTION Registry®-GWTG™, CARE Registry®, CathPCI Registry®, ICD Registry®) for PQRI in 2008. For more information on NCDR®’s IC3 Program®, visit http://www.ncdr.com.

FDA News Updates

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on August 27 approved XDx Inc.’s gene expression test AlloMap, which uses molecular expression techniques to assist physicians in detecting potential organ rejection in heart transplant patients post surgery. AlloMap measures the gene expression of 20 different genes and computes a score that indicates if a patient is unlikely to reject the heart transplant. For more information, visit the FDA Web site here.

The FDA recently released a final guidance document that adds thoracic aortic aneurysm stent grafts to the list of devices that are subject to tracking requirements. FDA can mandate tracking for Class II or III devices that could have serious adverse consequences if the device was to fail; are implanted for more than one year; that are life-sustaining or supporting; and are used outside a device-user facility. To view the final guidance, click here.

Health Reform Needed Early in Next Administration, Clinton Says

Health care reform must be proposed early within the next presidential administration if it is to pass Congress, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said on August 27 at a forum jointly sponsored by Families USA and the Service Employees’ International Union. The event was held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention. Sen. Clinton said, “It's going to take all the good will of the honeymoon period, and I hope the Democrats in Congress can reach consensus." For too long in health care reform, "the perfect has been the enemy of the good," Sen. Clinton said. Also speaking at the forum was former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D).

Republican Party Releases 2008 Platform

The Republican Party on August 25 released a draft version of its platform for the 2008 presidential election that supports a revision to the federal tax code to allow individual purchasers of insurance to receive the same tax advantages as those who are insured through employers. The platform also calls for Medicare and Medicaid reform. In addition, the platform states that Republicans support efforts to increase patient control of their care; increase health insurance portability; encourage health information technology; eliminate “frivolous” medical malpractice lawsuits; and reward physicians for providing a high quality of care. According to the platform, health care reform must begin by giving "control of the health care system to patients and their doctors, not bureaucrats in government or business." The platform was released in advance of the Republican nominating convention, which will be held Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul, Minn.

California Legislature Approves CV-Related Bills

The California Legislature recently approved two cardiovascular-related bills, both of which had the support of ACC’s California Chapter. The first bill (S.B. 891) would authorize a pilot program at six hospitals in the state to gather data on elective PCI without surgical backup. State regulatory rules currently prohibit hospitals from providing elective PCI to patients without cardiac surgery backup present. The Legislature’s second bill (S.B. 1420) would require restaurants with 20 or more locations to provide nutritional information to customers. Starting July 1, 2009, the bill would require that these restaurants provide pamphlets at the point of sale. By Jan. 1, 2011, the restaurants would be required to place the nutritional information on menus and menus boards.

Although both bills are ready to be sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), the Legislature is holding the bills because Schwarzenegger has pledged to veto all bills until it makes progress on the budget, which it had not done by Sunday, the last day of its regular session. Given the situation, it is unlikely that final action on the bills will occur in the immediate future.