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American College of
Cardiology Speaks Out on Health Care Reform Bill
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March 22, 2010 -- Washington, DC -- Last night
the U.S. House of Representatives passed the long-debated healthcare
reform bill in a 219-212 vote -- with all House Republicans and 34
Democrats voting against it. The Senate will soon vote on a series
of agreed-upon "fixes" to the legislation, but the bill has passed
and President Barack Obama has said he will sign the bill into law
tomorrow.
Dr. Ralph
Brindis |
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While the bill has generally
been applauded by the medical community, there are specific sections
of the package that were addressed by Dr. Ralph Brindis, newly-elected
President of the American College of Cardiology today in an audio
statement on the College's web site. Dr. Brindis stated:
"Last night
Congress passed monumental legislation that sets our great
nation on a new course for health care delivery. This legislation
makes
significant headway in truly expanding coverage for more
of our patients.
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- It extends medicaid qualifications;
- Increases the age limit for young adults on family plans;
and
- Eliminates pre-existing condition exclusions for health
insurance.
"It also includes the Congenital Heart Futures Act and addresses
chronic disease management, prevention and wellness. In addition,
Congress included much needed funding for innovative Medicare
and Medicaid pilot programs that could improve care coordination.
"While the bill is a good start,
the ACC remains concerned about several provisions, including
the creation of an “independent
payment advisory board" and prohibitions on physician-owned
hospitals. The legislation also fails to address several of the
principles that the ACC has deemed essential for real reform.
For example, it
does not include delivery and payment system reforms that reward
quality improvement and outcomes. Nor does it repeal the flawed
sustainable growth rate formula used to calculate Medicare physician
payment.
It also fails to implement much-needed medical liability reforms
that reduce legal and defensive medicine costs.
"Now the real work begins. The ACC is now poised to lobby
for changes and lead the process of implementation. As you
know, we are already
working across multiple areas to ensure appropriate use of imaging;
promote adherence to clinical guidelines; improve care coordination
through the use of clinical registries; and reduce hospital readmissions
and racial and geographic disparities in care.
"Carefully crafted partnerships are
critical to enacting these real reforms and expediting progress.
I, along with other
College
leaders,
look forward to working with you, Congress and other key stakeholders
as we move forward. Our end goal: a health care system that puts
patients first and rewards – not penalizes – medical
professionals for their commitment to quality and evidence-based
care."
It will be interesting to see the direction that
the College takes on these issues. Dr. Brindis, an interventional
cardiologist --
the first to head the ACC in a dozen years -- has also been one of
the moving forces behind the ACC's National Cardiovascular Data Registry
(NCDR) and the CathPCI registry which are major sources of information
about outcomes and frequency of catheter-based procedures such as
angiograms, angioplasty and stents.
With the healthcare bill vastly
expanding medical coverage, many analysts expect that the number
of procedures will increase, especially since the main
populations of poor and uninsured that have not seen the benefits
of the advances in interventional cardiology
will now be eligible for treatment. The financial community certainly
seems to feel this way -- today's stock market saw advances for
most of
the medical device sector.
Reported by Burt Cohen, March 22, 2010
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