Contact: Ana Fullmer, afullmer@acc.org, 202-375-6229

Statement attributable to Alfred Bove, M.D., President of the American College of Cardiology:

“The American College of Cardiology is shocked that CMS has proposed to cut payments to cardiology services by 11 percent in a single year. These proposed cuts are based on the incorporation of a few esoteric pieces of data into a complex formula. The focus on this formula completely ignores the very important issues of access that are certain to be created by these huge slashes in payment. Services that have improved countless lives by diagnosing and treating cardiovascular disease are scheduled to have payment cuts in the range of 25 to 42 percent.

“The ACC is very concerned that CMS chose to disregard the standards it previously put in plae to ensure the quality of practice expense data. We believe this is a significant departure from previous policy and may be a violation of statute. It is ironic that the agency that purports to support an evidence-based approach to medicine is making major decisions based on such shoddy and incomplete data.

“Given the extensive discussion of previous surveys in previous rules, the ACC is concerned about the very brief discussion of the new survey in this proposal. In previous rules, CMS has stated its strong concerns about wild swings in payments for services and has chosen not to implement significant changes in payments in a single year. The ACC questions why they would propose to do so this time.”

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The American College of Cardiology is leading the way to optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention. The College is a 36,000-member nonprofit medical society and bestows the credential Fellow of the American College of Cardiology upon physicians who meet its stringent qualifications. The College is a leader in the formulation of health policy, standards and guidelines, and is a staunch supporter of cardiovascular research. The ACC provides professional education and operates national registries for the measurement and improvement of quality care. More information about the association is available online at www.acc.org .

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) provides these news reports of clinical studies published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology as a service to physicians, the media, the public and other interested parties. However, statements or opinions expressed in these reports reflect the view of the author(s) and do not represent official policy of the ACC unless stated so.

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