April 7th, 2009 §
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.
April 7th, 2009 §
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.
February 23rd, 2009 §
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
