The American College of Radiology® (ACR®), the Society for Interventional Radiology, the American Society for Radiation Oncology and others led a campaign to educate the Biden administration and Congress about the threat to patient access to care and the viability of radiology practices created by an update to the clinical labor component of direct practice expense reimbursement in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS).
To address this threat, U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Tony Cardenas (D-CA), Greg Murphy, MD (R-NC), and Danny Davis (D-IL), introduced the Providing Relief and Stability for Medicare Patients Act of 2023 (H.R. 3674) May 27. ACR is supporting this legislation through a call to action, asking ACR members to contact their representative and ask them to cosign H.R. 3674.
The application of statutorily required budget neutrality to an update of the clinical labor component of direct practice expense in the 2022 MPFS rule resulted in significant code-level reductions for radiology services with high equipment costs, particularly interventional radiology, and radiation oncology services. ACR will continue to support H.R. 3674 and will provide updates as they are available.
For more information about H.R. 3674, contact Rebecca Spangler, ACR Senior Government Relations Director. For information about the Radiology Advocacy Network, contact Melody Ballesteros, ACR Assistant Director of Government Affairs.