Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
H.R. 3590 - The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.3590.as:
December 10, 2009
On September 17, Members of Congress introduced the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), a major health reform bill passed by the House and now under consideration by the Senate. Some important provisions that impact the cardiology community, include:
- Equipment Utilization Rates: Equipment utilization rates for all diagnostic imaging will go up from 50 percent in 2009 to 65 percent, 70 percent, and 75 percent in 2010, 2013, and 2014, respectively.
- SGR Formula: The 21.2 percent cut to Medicare physician payments in 2010 due to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula used to calculate reimbursement would be eliminated. However, this is a short-term fix to the SGR issue, and the bill does not offer a permanent replacement for the flawed SGR formula.
- Medicare Commission: A new Independent Medicare Advisory Board would determine Medicare payment updates for physicians under a spending target system. The board's recommendations would be shared with MedPAC and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services prior to Congressional action.
- In-Office Imaging: Referring physicians must notify patients in writing that in-office ancillary services for specified imaging services may be obtained from a person other than the referring physician.
- Comparative Effectiveness Research: The bill would establish a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute aimed at assisting "patients, clinicians, purchasers, and policy-makers in making informed health decisions by advancing the quality and relevance of evidence concerning the manner in which diseases, disorders, and other health conditions can effectively and appropriately be prevented, diagnosed, treated, monitored, and managed through research and evidence synthesis."
