Hundreds of radiologists and other physicians have flooded Washington with pleas to avoid massive Medicare cuts set to hit the specialty in a few months.
They’re concerned about changes outlined in the 2022 physician fee schedule, expected to reduce rads’ reimbursement to make up for spending increases elsewhere in the federal budget. Providers, in particular, have voiced concerns about updating wages for clinical labor staffers such mammography technologists, which would lead to sizable pay reductions for interventional radiologists and radiation oncologists.
Professional associations such as the American College of Radiology have urged members to contact lawmakers and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Physicians have responded, ACR said Thursday, submitting 900 comments to CMS about the clinical-labor issue, and 1,300 emails to members of Congress. The college hopes the letter-writing campaign pays off, similar to docs’ success curtailing cuts in the 2021 fee schedule.
“Last year the advocacy efforts and support from ACR members helped stave off cuts by CMS that would have inadvertently affected patient access to care during a very critical time. With your help, the ACR can continue its fight for patient access,” the professional association said in a Sept. 16 news update.
Meanwhile, U.S. Reps. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., have been circulating their own letter opposing the clinical-labor change. As of Tuesday, the two said 73 bipartisan members of the House now oppose the update, which would reduce specialists’ pay by more than 20% for some services. Lawmakers believe the policy could force providers to close practices and disproportionately impact Black and Latino patients’ access to interventional radiology care.
“These ongoing cuts to specialties under the PFS also are weakening our healthcare system’s ability to deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” representatives wrote to CMS Sept. 13.
Two other physician lawmakers are circulating their own letter to House leaders, seeking to extend a 3.75% physician pay increase set to expire Dec. 31. The adjustment was added late last year to help offset Medicare reductions for rads, necessitated by increased spending on primary care and other services. ACR said this “dear colleague letter” from Ami Bera, MD, D-Calif., and Larry Bucshon, MD, R-Ind., prompted its members to write more than 1,000 messages to Capitol Hill in less than a week.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.