This Week at ACC
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.
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.
CER
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.
Register
Today for CCA Core Curriculum
The
cardiovascular care team is more important than ever to quality CV practice.
The ACCF CCA Core Curriculum program is designed for advanced nurse practitioners,
clinical nurse specialists, cardiovascular nurses and physician assistants.
The program will enhance practitioners' clinical skills as well as provide
new tools to better diagnose patients with cardiovascular disease. Through
case studies of evidence-based practice guidelines, this comprehensive
and interactive program will address key topics in cardiology. This program
will also include numerous hands-on activities such as 12-lead ECG Interpretation,
heart sound recognition and chest x-ray interpretation. Plus, take advantage
of opportunities to network with colleagues and expert faculty. Space
is limited to 80 participants. The Core Curriculum program sold out in
advance in 2008 — register
today!
Managing
the Challenges of ACS
Now on Cardiosource: Earn CME as you learn to navigate the challenges
of acute coronary syndromes (ACS). This program will reinforce adherence
to guidelines to improve patient outcomes.
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