Hello Radvocates,
I hope that your 2024 has gotten off to a great start. We are busy providing support and assistance to all at the state and federal levels, including through calls-to-action at both levels!
Thanks to your efforts as well as our stellar Government Relations team, we were able to recoup 1.68% of Medicare reimbursement which came to a total relief for the year of 2.93%. However, This year, during ACR Capitol Hill Day, we will urge our federal elected officials to look to long-term Medicare reform, as the cuts continue to plague our specialty regardless of practice type. In the meantime, we must continue to contact our lawmakers and respond to calls-to-action when any legislation arises which proposes to mitigate these continued cuts. Your voice matters, and these CTAs are incredibly important.
With that, we recently emailed you a call-to-action to fund the NIH base budget in the federal fiscal year (FY) 2025, and advocate for funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). We appreciate you all responding to this timely correspondence which only takes a few clicks!
Also this year, we will continue to urge Congress to increase the number of residency positions, including those allotted to radiology, as we acknowledge the immense workforce shortage our specialty is facing and is predicted to continue to face in the years to come.
We will continue to soldier on, regardless of Congressional climate, to ensure our patients have access to the care they deserve and we are fairly reimbursed for the services we provide. We hope you will continue to join our ranks and recruit others in the process. It takes a village, and we cannot be successful at our radvocacy endeavors without every one of you, regardless of career level or practice type. Responding to calls-to-action and contributing to RADPAC are two of the most powerful ways you can support our patients and profession.
Thank you for all that you do.
Sincerely, Amy K. Patel M.D.
Chair, ACRa RAN & RADPAC
