President Signs Tobacco Bill into Law
President Barack Obama on June 22 signed into law the “Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act” (S. 982), after it passed June 12 in the Senate in a 79-17 vote. The bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to grant the FDA the authority to restrict tobacco marketing and sales to youth; require detailed disclosure of ingredients; require changes to tobacco products; and require larger, more specific health warnings. The FDA activity will be funded by a user fee on cigarette manufacturers, allocated by market share. More coverage is available from the Washington Post.

The bill’s passage is a victory for the College: ACC members called their lawmakers to support the legislation and sent e-mails encouraging its passage. Your action helped make the passage of this bill a reality. The ACC released a statement following the bill’s passage in the Senate, which is available online.

House Committees Release Discussion Draft on Health Reform
Three House committees – Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor – on June 19 released a discussion draft that aims to provide high-quality, affordable health care to all Americans while containing cost growth. The discussion draft rebases the current sustainable growth rate thereby wiping out all deficits for the last 9 years, provides a positive Medicare Economic Index (MEI) update in 2010 (approximately 1 percent) and removes Medicare Part B drugs and labs from the calculation of physician services spending. The draft establishes two spending targets under the SGR formula , one for primary care and preventive services and one for all other services. The draft also supports the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative by continuing funding, setting up an appeals process and providing more timely feedback. However, the draft bill includes a provision to change the assumption for the time imaging equipment is in use from 50% to 75%, which will result in lower payments for imaging services. The ACC opposes this provision.

The Education and Labor Committee held a hearing yesterday to discuss the draft and Ways and Means is holding a hearing today. The Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday began three days of hearings, and ACC Senior Vice President of Science and Quality Janet Wright, M.D., F.A.C.C., will speak at their hearing tomorrow. ACC staff is working with leaders in the Senate and House as they continue to work on these and other proposals. More about the discussion draft is available online. For the latest information on health reform, visit http://qualityfirst.acc.org.

Support Sound Imaging Policy – Call Your Lawmakers
The ACC recently signed several letters to lawmakers regarding Medicare imaging policies, opposing arbitrary cuts to imaging payment while supporting policies that promote appropriate use criteria (AUC). In one such letter, the ACC outlines its support for the Senate Finance Committee’s proposal to promote imaging AUC and opposes the use of radiology benefit managers (RBM). In a second letter, the ACC again expresses concerns over RBMs because of their burdensome prior authorization requirements that can reduce access. The ACC believes that increased use of clinical documents is the better method of reducing costs associated with imaging.

The ACC encourages members to call their lawmakers and request that they support policies that promote appropriate use criteria, rather than arbitrary cuts to imaging payment. Call your lawmakers using the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

National Health IT Committee Release ‘Meaningful Use’ Definition
The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Health Information Technology Policy Committee has released their preliminary definition for “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHR) and a matrix of recommended outcomes and measures to document meaningful use. The federal government by 2011 will start paying bonuses to those practices that have adopted and are “meaningfully using” EHRs. The committee has a comment period open on the preliminary definition until June 26, specifically seeking input on the appropriate urgency of the implementation timeline, and on how best to frame measures to capture outcomes for meaningful use in 2011, 2013 and 2015. Definitions of meaningful use will differ between inpatient and outpatient settings, and the measures will be derived from NQF-endorsed measures.

The ACC will submit comments before this deadline, and has previously submitted recommendations for what the definition should include. The ACC has put together helpful hints for selecting and implementing an EHR to assist members in taking advantage of this new federal program, available at: www.acc.org/healthit.

CMS Scam Alert: Fake Faxes Asking for Account Information
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently became aware of a scam involving faxes sent to physician offices posing as the Medicare carrier or Medicare Administrative Contractor. The fax instructs physician staff to respond to a questionnaire to provide an account information update within 48 hours to prevent a gap in Medicare payments. The fax may have the CMS logo and/or the contractor logo to enhance the appearance of authenticity. If you receive a request for information in the manner described above, please check with your contractor before submitting any information. Medicare providers should only send information to a Medicare contractor using the address found in the download section of the CMS.gov website found here.

FDA Approves St. Jude Pump
The Food & Drug Administration has approved the St. Jude Medical, Inc., Cool Point pump. The pump is designed to supply saline continuously through catheters that are used for cardiac arrhythmia. The company said Cool Point is meant to be used with its cardiac ablation generator and other irrigated catheters. More coverage is available from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

There’s Not Always Robust Evidence, Mr. President: The Lewin Report
Robert Hendel, M.D., F.A.C.C., was featured today on ACC’s online forum, The Lewin Report, discussing the value of appropriate use criteria in filling the void in robust scientific evidence. Hendel writes about President Obama’s recent speech to the American Medical Association: President Obama “cited the recent JAMA publication that found only half of all cardiac guidelines are based on scientific evidence.” Hendel continues, “However, this conclusion is misleading with regards to the value of practice guidelines and the overall aim of providing the best care. Not every clinical scenario has robust literature support and in its absence, expert consensus opinion must fill the void to assist cardiologists in decision-making.” Read the post in full.