ACR Legislative ACTION ALERT: Please Call Your Senator to Support Reduced Utilization Rate Increase

Chairman Max Baucus of the Senate Finance Committee released his recommendations for health care reform recently and included several provisions that could have a direct impact on diagnostic imaging technical component (TC) reimbursement. Whereas proposals in the House of Representatives and the Administration have all increased the equipment utilization formula from the current 50% to 90% for CT, MR, PET and nuclear medicine equipment, Chairman Baucus has agreed with the protestations from the ACR and is offering a more moderate formula change that will raise the utilization percentage from 50% to 65%. We strongly support this response from Senator Baucus and want ACR members to register their support for this lower reimbursement reduction as the Finance Committee prepares to tackle the amending process of the Baucus bill this week.

We have contacted you because you are a constituent of Senator Vacant, a member of the Senate Finance Committee. The Committee is scheduled to begin debate on Tuesday September 22. To avoid any consideration by the Committee of revisiting the 90% rate, ACR wants to make sure senators on the Committee understand there is broad support for the 65% rate.

Please call Senator Vacant today at to express your support for the lower rate. Ask to speak with the senator’s Health Legislative Assistant (Health LA) and tell them you support “the Chairman’s proposed utilization assumption rate of 65% contained in the section entitled Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Services of the Chairman’s Mark.”

If you have any questions, please call the ACR’s Government Relations office at: (202) 223-1670.