Endocrine Insider
April 1, 2010

(See Full Issue)

After almost a year of debate, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (HR 3590) on March 23, 2010.  Although a package of changes passed by both the House and Senate and signed by the President on March 30 altered the overhaul bill slightly, the changes do not affect the many provisions of interest to endocrinologists. 

Most directly impacting endocrinologists is a provision that provides a two-year fix of the payment cuts to DXA services performed in the physician's office. The provision sets payment rates at 70 percent of the 2006 level (approximately $97) for 2010 and 2011 and requires the Institute of Medicine to conduct a study of the impact of the payment cuts on patient access.   Without this provision, payment for DXA would have been $61 in 2010 and $56 in 2011.

The inclusion of this provision was a direct result of the advocacy work of the Society as part of the DXA coalition of specialty societies, the grassroots involvement of Society members, and the strong support of Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) who was responsible for including the fix in HR 3590. Setting payments at this level will allow the majority of providers to cover the cost of providing the service in their offices. The Society is pleased that the hard work of all involved has led to some relief for endocrinologists who provide this vital service and for the patients that they treat.

Other Society-supported provisions in HR 3590 are outlined below.

• NCMHD designated as an Institute – Designates the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) at the NIH as an Institute, and requires the NCHMD Director to plan, coordinate, and review and evaluate research and other activities conducted or supported by the institutes and centers.

• Minority health – As recommended in the Society’s white paper Increasing Minority Participation in Clinical Trials, establishes an Office of Minority Health at a number of agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, including at the Food and Drug Administration

• Coverage and waiver of cost sharing for preventive services – Requires all health plans to cover preventive services and immunizations recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the CDC, and certain child preventive services recommended by the Health Resources and Services Administration, without any cost-sharing.

• Nutrition labeling of standard menu items at chain restaurants – Requires a restaurant that is part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name to disclose nutritional information on the menu board and in a written form, including information pertaining to total calories and calories from fat, as well as amounts of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates, sugars, dietary fiber, and protein.

• Catalyst to Better Diabetes Care Act – Embedded in the larger law, requires the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to prepare biennially a national diabetes report card and, to the extent possible, one for each state to track the success of federally-funded diabetes prevention and treatment programs.

The Endocrine Society will be hosting a webinar, “Health Care Reform and Endocrinology: 2,000 Pages in 60 Minutes,” on May 12, 2010, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EDT, to provide members with additional information on how the changes required by the health reform legislation will affect endocrinologists.  Please look for further communication from the Society about how to register.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is holding a series of webcasts with more general information about the effects of the new law, with the first Q&A session held on Wednesday March 31. Additional information on the new law and future chats can be found at http://www.HealthReform.gov.