This post was authored by Kim Allan Williams, Sr., MD, FACC, vice president of the ACC.

Greetings from Washington, DC! Today, leaders from the ACC, the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and the American Society of Echocardiography have united on Capitol Hill to meet directly with lawmakers and underscore the importance of permanently repealing the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) payment formula. After more than a decade battling the flawed formula that has threatened patient access and physician stability, a viable proposal for permanently repealing the SGR and establishing a framework for a new Medicare payment system that would reward high quality, evidence-based care is on the table.

Immediately following the release of a bipartisan legislative proposal last week, the ACC and wider medical community jumped into action. A Grassroots Action Alert has been activated so ACC members can easily contact their lawmakers. The ACC expressed support for this legislation, which is largely consistent with our longstanding healthcare policy goals, in a letter to congressional leaders. The College also joined other specialty societies by signing onto an American Medical Association (AMA) letter calling for Congress to continue the momentum and finalize legislation.

However, passage of the legislation is not a done deal, and two major factors threaten to derail this important agreement.

The cost of permanent SGR repeal, roughly $128 billion, must be offset by corresponding spending cuts. ACC’s support for this effort rests on the caveat that paying for this legislation must not negatively impact access to lifesaving cardiology services.

As we’ve seen many times before, Congress could also kick the can down the road and enact another short-term patch. After reaching such a landmark SGR repeal agreement, this would be a huge disappointment.

Today, as we meet with 17 lawmakers, we’re letting Congress know that we appreciate the bipartisan, bicameral and tripartite committee action that has brought the process to this point.  However, another temporary solution is unacceptable; the progress represented by this bipartisan agreement must be brought to completion, and must be paid for with offsets that do not harm cardiovascular patients or the clinicians who care for them.

It is more important than ever to band together and let our elected leaders know that this issue is critical to maintaining access to cardiac care and to continue the gains we have made in reducing cardiovascular mortality. I encourage each of you to take a minute to contact your members of Congress and urge them to complete what they started and permanently repeal the SGR.

Get up-to-speed on where SGR legislation stands by joining ACC for a telebriefing on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. ET. Please RSVP to advocacydiv@acc.org with subject line “SGR Call” and dial (866) 814-8482 to tune into the briefing. Check out this American Medical Association chart to see how the latest proposal compares to the current law.

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