As I write this, Congress has just recessed until after Election Day without acting to repeal or delay the implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA). As you recall, in 2005, Congress enacted the DRA to fund a fix for the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) reductions mandated by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. To avoid a 4.1% cut in physician payments, Congress chose to cut reimbursement for the technical component of many imaging codes. In short, Congress decided that imaging should pay for approximately 38% of the dollar2.5 billion needed to balance the medical budget.
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