Cardiovascular “Village” Takes Recommendations to Capitol Hill

This post was authored by Eugene Sherman, MD, FACC, chair of the ACC’s Advocacy Steering Committee and Political Action Committee. This week I had the privilege of representing the ACC and its members on Capitol Hill, as part of a two-day “Fly-In” with several other cardiovascular societies and their leadership. Leading our efforts was ACC Vice President Kim Allan Williams, MD, FACC. Other societies in attendance included the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), American Society of Echocardiography, American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA).   Our goal was straightforward: provide key members of Congress with concrete recommendations regarding elimination of the flawed Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula and promote health care quality as several committees of the House and Senate are deliberating final versions of their plans. Key elements of our message: The Sustainable Growth Rate must be repealed and replaced with a system that better reflects increases in physician and other health care professionals’ practice costs. It is critical that our physicians and hospitals see a stabilized long-term plan for healthcare that will allow for proper long-term planning with our practices and hospitals. Congress must support initiatives to develop measures and guidelines to assure appropria...
Source: ACC in Touch Blog - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: CV Meetings Special Topics Source Type: blogs