September 7, 2012 — The American Medical Association (AMA) recently sent letters to Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland and Rep. Pete Olson of Texas supporting passage of the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act (H.R. 3269/S. 2347). This legislation would block the 25 percent multiple procedure payment reduction (MPPR) to the professional component (PC) of advanced diagnostic imaging services.
“These letters are the result of the AMA House of Delegates strongly endorsing the American College of Radiology (ACR) legislation against the implementation of the MPPR. The support of the AMA reflects concern throughout organized medicine as to how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) continues to make flawed physician payment policies based on little supportable data, minimal transparency and often times a basic lack of understanding as to how radiology is practiced in this country,” said Paul H. Ellenbogen, M.D., FACR, chair of the ACR board of chancellors.
The combination of grassroots advocacy from individual radiologists and direct lobbying by the ACR Government Relations office has, to date, yielded 268 bipartisan cosponsors in the House and 17 in the Senate — including Sens. John Kerry, Ron Wyden and Richard Burr, who serve on the Senate Finance Committee, which has direct jurisdiction of S. 2347.
ACR will continue to rely upon the collective strength of its membership to continue this increase in legislative support. All members are encouraged to log onto the advocacy section of acr.org to access the most recent radiology “call-to-action.” After clicking on the “Take Action Now” link found on the right side of the Web page, members can follow the instructions to immediately e-mail both of their senators in support of S. 2347, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act.
For more information: www.acr.org, www.radiologyinfo.org
August 09, 2024 
