Help Stop Payment Cuts to Electrophysiology Services!
Tell Congress to Act to Prevent these Cuts

If Congress does not act before the year's end, Medicare will cut payments to all physicians by 21.5% on January 1, 2010. An additional 11% cut to the average cardiology practice is proposed due to several technical changes in Practice Expense calculations.

Your Participation is Critical

E-mail or call your Representative and Senators today by visiting our Legislative Action Center. Ask your legislators to protect patient access to electrophysiology care. The viability of your practice is at stake.

Federal law mandates that a formula known as the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) be used to modify Medicare payments to physicians each year. Flaws in the formula, however, have required reductions in the physician fee schedule in recent years. Only short-term Congressional fixes have averted these cuts. If Congress does not act to replace the SGR now, the formula will continue to mandate physician fee schedule cuts.

Additionally, the proposed Medicare physician payment rule, recently released, calls for high cuts to cardiology practices based on a questionable survey of practice expenses. The flawed formula compounded with technical changes in Practice Expense calculations will impact electrophysiology practices by threatening patient access to pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillator services, and other heart arrhythmia procedures and therapies. Some electrophysiology procedures are projected to be cut as high as 35 percent.

The Heart Rhythm Society and other cardiovascular specialty societies are mounting an extensive effort to save cardiology practices. The Society is presenting this message to Capitol Hill, the Obama Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Please support us by asking your Representative and Senators to:

• Pass legislation that halts the payment cuts and replaces the SGR formula; and
• Contact CMS and urge the agency to withdraw the proposal to use the practice expense survey data for next year’s fee schedule.
  

» Additional information on reimbursement issues