Access to Medical Imaging Act of 2007 (AMIA)
There are now two bills in Congress to create a moratorium for two years on the implementation of the imaging cap provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA). Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), joined by her colleagues Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA) and Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), announced that new legislation is being introduced today in Congress to delay further implementation of the cuts for two years. Representative McCarthy (D-NY) introduced the Access to Medical Imaging Act of 2007 (HR 1293); the bill was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means.

The act would direct the Comptroller General to create a report on problems and potential problems resulting from implementation of the DRA that are related to the availability and quality of diagnostic imaging services in physician offices and freestanding clinics. To protect the Medicare program while the study is taking place, HR 1293 would establish a two-year moratorium on certain Medicare physician payment reductions for advanced diagnostic imaging services.

The Senate version (S. 1338) was reintroduced on March 1, 2007. Senators Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) reintroduce their legislation preserving the value of—and access to—medical imaging services for seniors, the Access to Medicare Imaging Act of 2007 (S. 1338), bipartisan legislation calling for a two-year moratorium of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) imaging cuts that went into effect the first of this year. As of May, over 100 senators supported the Act.

“We are very concerned that patients who depend upon imaging services outside of the hospital setting, especially those patients in rural and underserved areas, will be particularly hard hit,” explained Senator Rockefeller. “Given the haste in which the DRA ’05 legislation was crafted, it is imperative that we institute a two-year delay to allow enough time for a thorough analysis by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). We should have a better understanding of the complexities and impacts brought about by these cuts before moving forward with a potentially damaging policy,” noted Senator Smith.
For more information, visit www.imagingaccess.org.

 

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