UPDATES

August 5, 2013  

Contact Your Member of Congress to Support End to Self-Referral Abuse

The CSP worked with Congresswoman Speier (D-Ca) to expand her legislation to repeal the in-office ancillary services exemption from the Stark self-referral law to include anatomic pathology. We have reprinted below the email from the CAP that provides the tools for you to reach out to your local member of Congress. Though the evidence of abuse is very strong there will be continued opposition from other physician groups and she needs the co-sponsorship of many of her colleagues to get this bill passed. Take the initiative now. There is a growing list of other non-partisan advocacy groups that include this reform on the list of needed changes to control Medicare costs.  

 

The CAP has long advocated for Congress and CMS to close the Stark loophole protecting physicians who refer anatomic pathology (AP) services to laboratories which they own or in which they have a financial interest. AP services are rarely ever done at the time of an office visit, and this exception opens the door for ordering physicians to over-order these services with no benefit to patients.  On Thursday, August 1, Representative Jackie Speier (D-CA-14) introduced the Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act (H.R. 2914) removing anatomic pathology, along with other services, from the In-Office Ancillary Services Exception (IOASE) to the Stark law. The video of Representative Speier's press conference, including comments made by CAP chair of the Council on Government and Professional Affairs and member of the Board of Governors, Richard Friedberg, MD, PhD, FCAP, is available here: Self-Referral Press Conference.  Email your Member of Congress today and ask them to co-sponsor this important bill! Click here to be taken to the CAP Action Center. Entering your zip code will automatically match you with your legislator and generate the email for you. This legislation comes in the wake of the Government Accountability Office's (GAO) long awaited anatomic pathology self-referral study, released on Monday, July 15. The study, not surprisingly, found significant increases in cost and utilization by providers who self-refer anatomic pathology services. The full report can be found here: GAO Report on AP Self-Referral. The GAO on August 1 also released its radiation therapy self-referral study with similarly strong findings and can be found here: GAO Report on RT Self-Referral.  Although the GAO was not asked to make legislative recommendations in either study, the CAP's position is that the only solution to put an end to abusive self-referral practices is for Congress to close the IOAS loophole to protect patients and help sustain Medicare. Representative Speier's bill would accomplish this. Register now for an exclusive CAP webinar on the GAO reports: GAO Calls For Action to End Physician Self-Referral: A Panel Discussion, scheduled for Thursday, August 8, 2013 at 3:00 -- 4:00 PM Eastern Time.  Please email your Member of Congress, urge them to support closing the self-referral loophole, and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 2914! Click here to be taken to the CAP Action Center.  If you have any questions, please contact Laura Brigandi at (202) 354-7128 or lbrigan@cap.org.