“As a result of the COVID-19 emergency, healthcare providers have experienced major disruptions in their healthcare delivery services, and significantly higher costs for infection control, PPE, and other capital improvements to ensure the safety of their patients and practitioners,” they wrote.
In addition, the groups also urged Congress to waive budget neutrality for Medicare payment changes related to evaluation and management services. Advocates have noted for months that, without such changes, imaging providers stand to lose millions in the coming years. They’re also looking for Medicare loan forgiveness, along with the extension of Medicare sequestration cuts. A current suspension under the CARES Act extends through Dec. 31, but the groups want that dated pushed through the end of 2021.
You can read the entire letter here. Others signing the request include the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, Association for Quality Imaging, Centers for Diagnostic Imaging, the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance, and the Radiology Business Management Association.
Congressional lawmakers are returning this week from their two-week Independence Break and are slated to tackle an ambitious agenda, the ACR noted in update to members shared July 15. Senate leader McConnell is pushing hard for the inclusion of liability shields for businesses, a provision that radiologists and other providers have favored. There’s also been discussion of addressing surprise billing as part of the next stimulus package, a development the college is watching closely to “make sure radiologists, other physicians and patients are not harmed by provisions designed to reduce the ability of providers to negotiate fairly with insurance companies,” ACR wrote last Wednesday.
