Society Works with Bill Sponsor to Fix DXA Payment Cuts

After months-long debate, on Wednesday July 9, Senators voted 69-30 to invoke cloture and limit discussion, allowing H.R. 6331, the "Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008," to be passed by unanimous consent.  The bill blocks physician payment cuts and provides a 0.5 percent increase for payments through the rest of 2008, and another 1.1 percent increase in 2009.  

In addition to its efforts to block the payment cuts, The Endocrine Society, along with a coalition of Sister Societies and other concerned organizations, worked with Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) and Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) to include a provision in the Senate and House packages that would halt the cuts to physician payments for dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) that took effect on January 1, 2007.

In November 2007, Rep. Berkley introduced the "Medicare Fracture Prevention and Osteoporosis Testing Act" (H.R. 4206) in support of DXA and vertebral fracture assessment (VFA) services, and Sens. Salazar and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced a companion Senate bill (S. 2702) in February 2008. These bills would overturn the drastic cuts to Medicare reimbursement for DXA and VFA tests already being applied. The cuts will reduce DXA service payments from $140 in 2006 to $50 in 2010, making it difficult for endocrinologists and other providers to continue offering their patients DXA and VFA services in a non-hospital setting.  

Unfortunately, in an effort to keep the cost of the Medicare package down, members of Congress were unable to address the DXA payment cuts in the current packages.  The freestanding bills remain active in both the House and Senate, and the Society will continue to work with the coalition towards passage of these bills.