ACC Response
What the ACC Is Doing
The ACC is exploring all legislative, regulatory and legal options.
Legislative
The ACC will turn back this bad government policy by building on the goodwill and support created by ACC member efforts to date, while minimizing opposition. Working with the ACC, Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas) introduced legislation (H.R. 4371) that would hold cardiology at current 2009 practice expense values, while allowing other specialty practices to operate at 2010 physician practice information survey (PPIS) values.
Learn more about ACC's Legislative actions »
Regulatory
The ACC has made a specific request to CMS to phase in the 36 percent cut to nuclear imaging, which will help mitigate the damage of this cut.
Learn more about ACC's Regulatory actions »
Legal
After exhausting all immediate regulatory and legislative options – and with no final action by Congress or CMS to stop the cuts prior to the Jan. 1, 2010 deadline – the College on Dec. 28 filed a complaint, as well as motions for a preliminary injunction and expedited discovery, against Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in U.S. District Court in Florida. In early January, ACC's motions were denied on jurisdictional grounds, with a judge finding that statutory language governing the Medicare program precludes judicial review of the relative value units and the methods for determining the RVUs in the Medicare fee schedule. A blow to physicians everywhere, the court decision only serves to emphasize the precedent that CMS can set physician payment in whatever manner it chooses regardless of impact and/or level of analysis.
