The ACC’s CardioAdvocacy Network
(ACC│CAN) lets you stay up to date on critical issues
facing the cardiovascular community and provides you with
the tools you need to help shape health care policy at the
federal, state and local levels.
ACTION
ALERTS:
Get Involved in the Fight for Survival
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has
released its 2010 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule,
which includes policy proposals that significantly reduce
payments for cardiovascular-related services. Because of your
efforts to date, we have succeeded in buying a little time.
Since the rule phases in some of the cuts to cardiology over
four years, we have mitigated the damage a bit. But these
cuts, whether immediate or spread out over time, are simply
unacceptable.
The ACC understands the very real impacts these cuts will
have on practice viability and patient access to quality cardiovascular
care and is working hand-in-hand with the Cardiology Advocacy
Alliance (CAA) and other cardiovascular societies to mitigate
the impacts of the cuts. We are exploring all regulatory,
legislative and legal options and are working to provide tools
and resources to help practices survive in this challenging
new environment.
We will need your tireless support during this battle. Every
cardiovascular professional in the U.S. must get personally
involved in the fight to protect patient access. You can start
today!
- Get up to date on what's included in the final rule. Slides
from ACC's Nov. 12 all-member call about the rule and its
impacts are available.
- Read an overview
of the rule.
- Assess the basic impacts of the cuts by using ACC's practice
expense calculator. You can also get specifics on new
coding changes, as well as answers to frequently asked questions,
on the practice
management section of ACC's Web site.
- Spread the message within your community and with your
elected officials about the specific impacts of these cuts
on your practice and your patients. Send
a letter to your members of Congress asking them to
stop the cuts. For help with letters to the editor or op-eds
in your local paper, contact ACC's media relations team
at advocate@acc.org.
- Help ensure the voice of cardiology is heard on Capitol
Hill be contributing to ACC’s Political Action Committee.
More information is available at www.accpacweb.org.
- Get your patients involved (see patient materials below).
Stay tuned to this site for specific ways you can take action
in the days and weeks ahead.
For questions, please contact advocacydiv@acc.org.
Patient Materials on Payment Reform
Patient
Sample Letter to Congress
Patient Flyers and Posters
Help Protect Your Cardiovascular Care (Flyer)
(Poster)
Congress Holds Your Heart in Its Hands (Flyer)
(Poster)
Your Access to Cardiovascular Care is at Risk (Flyer)
(Poster)
For more information, contact Molly Nichelson (mnichels@acc.org).
Act
Now You can also call the ACC’s toll-free
grassroots hotline at 800-210-7193
ACC|CAN ACTION ALERT
CENTER is for the use of ACC Members only. You must
use your ACC member number and ID to log on to the secure
website. If you need assistance, email grassroots@acc.org
or call (202) 375-6470, Monday-Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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