Imaging Alliance

The Imaging Alliance has succeeded in preventing passage of legislation in the Texas Legislature that would have severely limited access to high quality imaging for Texas patients. The deadline for passage of bills originating from the House passed with neither HB 2279 nor HB 2599 being passed. These two bills are dead for this session in the House of Representatives and, as a result, did not become law.

This is a major victory for Texas patients who deserve access to quality imaging services. This milestone was accomplished because of the great work done by the members of the Imaging Alliance. Our members have contacted their legislators by phone, email and in person during First Tuesdays and back in their districts, as well as testifying in person against the two bills at the Capitol.

We still have an upcoming special session of the Texas Legislature, however, so we will need to be vigilant every day between now and then. We will continue to fight against the coalition of health plans, business lobbyists and radiologists, who have attempted to curtail patient access to high quality imaging services. We will stay vigilant for efforts to attach these bills as amendments to other legislation moving through the special session of the Texas Legislature.

Call the Public Health Committee RIGHT NOW!

Thank you for calling last week. However we have to call Right Now!

The Public Health Committee will vote on HB 2599 this afternoon.
 
Ask each member of the Public Health Committee (listed below) to VOTE NO on HB 2599 (click to read) VOTE NO on HB 2599

This bill is NOT NECESSARY and WILL DECREASE PATIENT ACCESS TO IMAGING!

This bill is not about transparency, it is about competition. This bill is brought forth by the radiologists in their desire to prevent other physicians from treating and imaging their patients. For example, the radiologists would prefer that your Cardiologist not be allowed to perform the imaging of your heart, or your Neurologist not be allowed to perform the imaging of your brain and spinal cord. This is a turf battle within the physician community, and instead of allowing the medical standard of care and market pressure handle this issue, the radiologists would rather come to the Legislature and ask for you to intervene in their turf battle.

As the practice of medicine continues to evolve, and best practices moves more of the imaging into the hands of the physician specialist that examines and treats the patient, radiologists are seeing a downturn in referrals, and in response, the radiologists are seeking legislative means to protect their “economic turf.”

 Every payor of healthcare services – health plans, Medicare, Medicaid – already has the authority by law and rule to deny payment of any claim for imaging services if the payor believes any physician is overutilizing.

1. Every payor also may and does report any physician who they believe is overutilizing imaging to the Attorney General and/or Texas Medical Board.
2. The study will not be able to show whether the imaging referral was “appropriate,” and therefore the burden and costs of the reporting will be useless.
3. The increased costs of reporting, registering with the State, and accreditation of your office, equipment and personnel will increase the costs of imaging.
4. Increasing the costs of imaging will decrease the number of physicians performing imaging services for Texas patients, and create an access to imaging problem for Texas patients.
5. CMS and many of the health plans have already indicated that it will adopt accreditation standards for imaging standards.
6. This bill is a direct attack on the decisions made by the most important partnership in health care: the patient and the physician.

 PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL EACH OF THE

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

“VOTE NO on HB 2599 because it would decrease your patients’ access to imaging services, increase the costs of imaging services, and create a huge, expensive bureaucracy for the State simply because the radiologists want the State to protect their economic turf.”

The following legislative action alert was issued by the Texas Chapter – American College of Cardiology, a founding member of the Imaging Alliance.

CODE BLUE – LEGISLATIVE ACTION ALERT

Thank you for calling last week. However we have to call again! The Public Health Committee may vote on HB 2279 and HB 2599 Friday or Saturday.

The radiologists are up to their old tricks again claiming that Cardiologists are fraudulently referring and imaging their own patients, thereby increasing healthcare costs and harming your patients by overexposing them to radiation. We stopped the radiologists in the 2005 and 2007 legislative session, but only because we let our voices be heard!

VOTE NO on HB 2279 and HB 2599 (Click to Read)

Neither one of these bills is about transparency, they are anti-competition bills. These bills are brought forth by the radiologists in their desire to prevent other physicians from treating and imaging their patients. For example, the radiologists would prefer that your Cardiologist not be allowed to perform the imaging of your heart, or your Neurologist not be allowed to perform the imaging of your brain and spinal cord. This is a turf battle within the physician community, and instead of allowing the medical standard of care and market pressure handle this issue, the radiologists would rather come to the Legislature and ask for you to intervene in their turf battle.

As the practice of medicine continues to evolve, and best practices moves more of the imaging into the hands of the physician specialist that examines and treats the patient, radiologists are seeing a downturn in referrals, and in response, the radiologists are seeking legislative means to protect their “economic turf.”

VOTE NO on HB 2279

TCACC is opposed to HB 2279 because:

1. It would require a physician to “directly supervise” the imaging of the patient, which is not the standard of care in Texas and not how imaging is performed in Texas today.
2. It would require the publication of component costs of imaging services on imaging billing invoices, which is not done by imaging physicians in Texas today, and
3. Would create excessive penalties against physicians including revocation and/or suspension of their medical license.

The radiologists are supporting this bill in their continued effort to limit and restrict who may perform imaging services on their patients.  This bill will create an unnecessary burden and expense on non-radiologist physicians who perform imaging on their patients today.

VOTE NO on HB 2599

This bill is NOT NECESSARY and WILL DECREASE PATIENT ACCESS TO IMAGING!

1. Every payor of healthcare services – health plans, Medicare, Medicaid – already has the authority by law and rule to deny payment of any claim for imaging services if the payor believes any physician is overutilizing.
2. Every payor also may and does report any physician who they believe is overutilizing imaging to the Attorney General and/or Texas Medical Board.
3. The study will not be able to show whether the imaging referral was “appropriate,” and therefore the burden and costs of the reporting will be useless.
4. The increased costs of reporting, registering with the State, and accreditation of your office, equipment and personnel will increase the costs of imaging.
5. Increasing the costs of imaging will decrease the number of physicians performing imaging services for Texas patients, and create an access to imaging problem for Texas patients.
6. CMS and many of the health plans have already indicated that it will adopt accreditation standards for imaging standards.
7. This bill is a direct attack on the decisions made by the most important partnership in health care: the patient and the physician.

PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL EACH OF THE

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

“VOTE NO on HB 2279 and HB 2599 because it would decrease your patients’ access to imaging services, increase the costs of imaging services, and create a huge, expensive bureaucracy for the State simply because the radiologists want the State to protect their economic turf.”

Please call or email their offices as soon as possible, and ask them to VOTE NO on HB 2279 and HB 2599 and not let it out of Committee.

Please do not hesitate to contact Jaime Capelo, lobbyist for the Texas Chapter of the American College of Cardiologists, directly to get more information. Mr. Capelo can be reached at (512) 469-9898 or at jc@capelolaw.com.

The Imaging Alliance is a growing coalition of physicians, medical societies, and individuals joined together to support your patients’ rights and access to quality medical imaging in Texas. The Imaging Alliance believes that SB 1461 and HB 2599 (identical) will have a negative impact on your patients’ right to direct access of imaging services by their physicians.

The Imaging Alliance is OPPOSED to SB 1461 and HB 2599 because they: (1) will require a duplicate registration and regulation process already performed by DSHS with regard to CT, PET and related imaging modalities, (2) will decrease the number of physicians who would be able to provide imaging services to your constituents because of the unnecessary and burdensome requirements, (3) will create a duplicative accreditation process that CMS has already indicated it will set, as have the health plans, (5) will require an significant expense to achieve accreditation of imaging equipment and personnel which will increase costs, (6) will create the unnecessary expense and administrative burden of reporting all imaging referrals, (7) will create the unnecessary expense and administrative burden of reporting percentage interest in each imaging equipment, and (8) will create harsh penalties against the physicians for these unnecessary requirements.

SB 1461/HB 2599:
1. Will not improve your patients’ access to imaging services,
2. Will only increase your patients’ costs for imaging services,
3. Will decrease the number of physicians providing imaging services and therefore decrease your patients’ access to imaging services, and
4. Will restrict your patients’ right to choose their physician for imaging services.

This bill is brought by the radiologists in their continued attempt to prevent other physicians from providing imaging services to their patients. For example, the radiologists would prefer that your Cardiologist not be allowed to perform the imaging of your heart, or your Neurologist not be allowed to perform the imaging of your brain/spinal cord. Instead of allowing the appropriate standard of care and market pressure to resolve this issue, the radiologists have come to the Legislature and asked for you to intervene in their turf war, again!

HB 2599 and SB 1461 represent a real threat to Texas patients and their ability to receive quality medical imaging from the physician of their choice. These measures supported by the radiologists are a continued effort to carry out a legislative agenda that was unanimously rejected by the House of Delegates of the Texas Medical Association during the interim.

Based on their past actions and current rhetoric, the radiologists will continue to seek the prohibition of imaging by all physicians except radiologists. This would lead to the unfortunate result of ending your constituents’ access to quality imaging by their cardiologist, neurologist, gastroenterologist, urologist, internist and every other physician.

Physician members of the Imaging Alliance are in Austin for the Texas Medical Association’s First Tuesday, April 7, 2009. We hope to have the opportunity to discuss this subject with each of you.
Imaging Alliance members: Texas Chapter American College of Cardiology; Texas Society for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy, Texas Urological Society, Texas Neurological Society; Texas Association for Neurological Surgeons, Texas Orthopaedic Association and Texas Ophthalmological Association.

Please do not hesitate to contact Jaime Capelo, lobbyist for the Texas Chapter of the American College of Cardiologists, directly to get more information. Mr. Capelo can be reached at (512) 469-9898 or at jc@capelolaw.com.

The Imaging Alliance is a growing coalition of physicians, medical societies, and individuals joined together to support your patients’ rights and access to quality medical imaging in Texas. The Imaging Alliance supports and defends physicians practicing direct patient care with responsible utilization of diagnostic imaging services. The Imaging Alliance is concerned about HB 2279 and the possibility that HB 2279 will have a negative impact on your patients’ right to direct access of imaging services by their physicians.

HB 2279 will be heard in the House Public Health Committee on April 7, 2009. The Imaging Alliance is concerned about HB 2279 because:

(1) it may be interpreted to require a physician to “directly supervise” the imaging, which is not how imaging is done in Texas today;
(2) it will to require information that is not collected or published by imaging physicians in Texas today; and,
(3) it will require the publishing of component costs of imaging on billing that is not done by imaging physicians in Texas today.

Each of these changes alone or together will have one impact on imaging in Texas: it will make it more expensive and less accessible.

This bill is brought forth by the radiologists in their desire to prevent other physicians from treating and imaging their patients. For example, the radiologists would prefer that your Cardiologist not be allowed to perform the imaging of your heart, or your Neurologist not be allowed to perform the imaging of your brain and spinal cord. This is a turf battle within the physician community, and instead of allowing the medical standard of care and market pressure handle this issue, the radiologists would rather come to the Legislature and ask for you to intervene in their turf battle.

In addition, HB 2297 creates excessive penalties against physicians: revocation and/or suspension of their medical license. This legislation will not improve your patients’ access to imaging services and will not improve the quality of imaging services your patients receive. HB 2279 will increase the costs of imaging services and will decrease the access to imaging services for your patients.

Members of the Imaging Alliance:Texas Chapter American College of Cardiology; Texas Society for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy, Texas Urological Society, Texas Neurological Society; Texas Association for Neurological Surgeons, Texas Orthopaedic Association and Texas Ophthmalogical Association.

Please do not hesitate to contact Jaime Capelo, lobbyist for the Texas Chapter of the American College of Cardiologists, directly to get more information prior. Mr. Capelo can be reached at (512) 469-9898 or at jc@capelolaw.com.

The Imaging Alliance – www.ImagingAlliance.org – is a newly formed alliance created for the purpose of protecting patients’ access to quality medical imaging in Texas.

We are concerned that members of the Texas Legislature are being given misleading information regarding the subject of medical imaging.

Recently the so-called Coalition for Ethical Imaging (CEI) was formed by the Texas Radiological Society to promote legislation that would severely restrict Texas patients’ access to quality medical imaging.

The radiologists have acknowledged that the Texas Association of Health Plans has joined their efforts to restrict patients’ rights, but we urge them to be equally transparent about their full agenda, which we believe is detrimental to our patients and your constituents.  Based on their past actions, we believe that the radiologists will ultimately seek the prohibition of imaging from all physicians except radiologists.  Their legislation would ultimately lead to the unfortunate result of ending your constituents’ access to quality imaging by their cardiologist, neurologist, gastroenterologist, urologist, internist and every other physician.

In 2005 and 2007 their legislation was soundly defeated.  In 2008 the Texas Medical Association’s House of Delegates addressed the radiologists’ issue and overwhelming rejected the radiologists’ proposal to limit the ability of most physicians to provide medical imaging for their patients.

Accordingly, we feel compelled to express our opposition to their efforts.  The purpose of this introductory alert is to briefly inform you of the past legislative efforts, the express opposition by the physician community and our desire to discuss any imaging issues and correct any misinformation that is provided.

Physician members of the Imaging Alliance will be in Austin during the next Texas Medical Association’s First Tuesday, March 3, 2009.  We hope to have the opportunity to discuss this subject with each of you before you make any decision to support legislation being promoted by the radiologists.

Please do not hesitate to contact Jaime Capelo, lobbyist for the Texas Chapter of the American College of Cardiologists, directly to get more information prior to March 3rd.  Mr. Capelo can be reached at (512) 469-9898 or at jc@capelolaw.com.

Members: Texas Chapter, American College of Cardiology; Texas Society for Gastroenterology and Endoscopy; Texas Urological Society; Texas Neurological Society; Texas Orthopaedic Association