Capitol Hill Day 2024 Resources
Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Program
Administrative Simplification of the Imaging AUC Program
Through Section 218(b) of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA), Congress required the consultation of appropriate use criteria (AUC) by providers ordering advanced diagnostic imaging exams (AUC program) for Medicare beneficiaries. AUC is an effective and evidence-based program, founded on physician-developed guidelines intended to optimize patient care by guiding providers as to whether an advanced imaging study is appropriate and, if so, which is the most appropriate. The AUC program is housed within an Electronic Medical Record via clinical decision support technology and has demonstrated improvement in the ordering of the correct imaging study in hundreds of institutions over several years. Entities using AUC have shown reductions in unnecessary utilization of imaging studies resulting in savings to both the institutions and copayment costs to patients.
For more information contact
Rebecca Spangler, ACR Senior Government Affairs Director.
Physician Workforce Crisis & Proposed Policy Solutions
Ensuring an adequate supply of physicians is integral to the future of our nation’s healthcare infrastructure. Unfortunately, the need for physicians continues to grow faster than supply. The United States could see an estimated shortage of between 13,500 and 86,000 physicians by 2036, including in most specialties. These shortages are driven as the population grows and ages, as well as vacancies created by retirements.
For more information, contact
Ashley Walton, ACR Government Affairs Director.
Medicare Payment Reform Update
Since December 2020, Congress has acted annually to mitigate statutorily required reductions to the MPFS by applying a positive adjustment to the conversion factor (CF) - the basic starting point for calculating Medicare reimbursement. Most recently, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 increased the congressional bump to the MPFS CF by 1.68% beginning March 9 for the remainder of 2024. Combined with the already existing 1.25% CF bump that Congress passed at the end of 2022, the result is a 2.93% increase over what the CF would have been without congressional action.
This bipartisan Congressional effort, a result of intense advocacy from an ACR-led coalition of physician and non-physician organizations, mitigated impending overall payment reductions by roughly 50% for 2024 granting short-term stability for providers to ensure beneficiaries continue to have access to high-quality care. In addition, the increase to the CF from the recent funding bill is estimated to “reclaim” almost $86 million for ACR specialties (DR, RO, IR) for the remainder of 2024, for a total of roughly $1.7 billion “reclaimed” since 2020.
For more information, contact
Ashley Walton, ACR Government Affairs Director.
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