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ACRO ALERT 
ACRO Needs Your Help to Continue the Fight to Overturn the Flawed Policies in the CY 2010 Proposed Physician Fee Schedule Rule.
published 9/23/2009

Even as broad changes to the health care system are contemplated by the U.S. Congress, our specialty continues to be in jeopardy due to the drastic cuts to radiation oncology contained in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) CY 2010 Physician Fee Schedule Proposed (PFS) Rule. 

Because of faulty data manipulation and methodologies utilized in the Physician Practice Information Survey (PPIS) and a flawed policy on equipment utilization that does not distinguish between diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, the Proposed Rule would have a devastating impact on radiation oncology. 

The overall impact from the rule is a 19 percent reduction for radiation oncology in aggregate and cuts of up to 44 percent or more for some codes critical to the provision of radiation therapy in freestanding centers.  Clearly, cuts of this magnitude could force many freestanding radiation therapy centers to close their doors.

Since the release of the rule this past July, ACRO has worked non-stop to reverse the cuts.  To date, ACRO has worked with others in the radiation oncology community to accomplish the following:

-Capps/Myrick/Griffith/Rogers Letter to HHS.  On August 17, 2009, 63 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sebelius protesting the cuts to radiation oncology and the flaws in the Proposed Rule relating to equipment utilization and the PPIS.

-Lincoln/Burr Letter to HHS.  As of this week, over 30 members of the U.S. Senate have signed a letter to Secretary Sebelius urging that radiation therapy be excluded from the equipment utilization policy in the Proposed Rule and raising concerns with the PPIS.

-Lincoln Amendment to the Senate Finance Health Reform Bill.  Last week, Senator Lincoln filed an amendment to the health reform bill under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.  The amendment would overturn the Proposed Rule's application of the equipment utilization policy to radiation therapy.  It also raises serious concerns regarding the PPIS based on studies commissioned by ACRO.

The introduction of the Lincoln Amendment is a significant recognition of our issue, but much more still needs to be done.  I urge you and all ACRO members to continue the fight by contacting your Senators and Representatives to ask them to support the Lincoln Amendment in the Senate and similar provisions in the House Health Reform Bill to overturn the equipment utilization's application to radiation therapy and fix the PPIS. 
It is critical that ACRO's membership continue to weigh in with Congress through the release of CMS's Final CY 2010 PFS Rule on November 1, 2009.

For more information on how you can help protect our specialty, please click here.


Michael Kuettel, MD, PhD, FACRO

President
American College of Radiation Oncology