Congress Passes Six-Month Payment Update
Before they recessed for the holidays in December, the Senate and House voted to approve a six-month Medicare physician payment update and extension of incentive funds for the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative. The legislation does not include imaging cuts or policy.

The payment update replaces the scheduled 10 percent cut with a .5 percent update from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2008. The legislation does not pay down the cost of the update, making the cost of future fixes even more costly.

The ACC will continue to fight the payment battle in the hopes of achieving a long-term solution rather than perpetuating the series of short-term band aids. The College is sending a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) expressing appreciation for their efforts, but disappointment in the temporary nature of the fix.

The College is also addressing other physician payment issues. We added another advocacy victory to our long list for 2007 when CMS delayed revised anti-markup provisions until 2009. The final rule is published in the Jan. 3 Federal Register. We are working with the American College of Radiology to submit comments on the proposed national coverage decision on cardiac CTA posted in December. The College has also urged CMS to change stipulations regarding Cardiac Cath and Cardiac MRI in the Physician Fee Schedule released in November.

The year ahead could be especially challenging because of the politics and shortened legislative term of an election year. The ACC will work closely with our legislators and payers to ensure that we focus on long-term, sustainable solutions to physician payment. I encourage you to continue contacting your lawmakers to let them know how important this is to you.

Dr. James Dove,
ACC President