by Marty Stempniak Physician members of the U.S. House are intensifying pressure to avert tens of millions in Medicare pay cuts to radiology and other specialties. Reps. Ami Bera, Larry Bucshon, Raul Ruiz and Roger Marshall—all MDs—championed the letter to House leaders, addressed on Monday. In it, they called the matter “of great urgency,” highlighting substantial cuts set to hit the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule in 2021. “In order to safeguard beneficiaries’ access to care during this pandemic, we as Congress should examine possible bipartisan solutions to address excessively steep cuts,” ... Read More »
October 20, 2020 Dear Friends, There continues to be doubt spread about the safety and efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine due to the rapid progress of several vaccine candidates. This is uncalled for because Moderna/NIH, Pfizer/BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, and Novavax—all in Phase 3 trials—are upholding their commitments to thoroughly review their work before submitting results for approval to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA has promised to only approve a vaccine for public use that adheres to typical safety standards and proves to be at least 50 percent effective. In short terms,... Read More »
October 16, 2020 Dear Friends, It is important to maintain regular medical care despite the challenges that the COVID-19 public health emergency poses for scheduling appointments with health care providers. Yesterday, President Trump and his administration continued the efforts already made to protect and enhance the health of mothers. This work builds upon the work that Congress has done to address maternal health and mortality. Here is a breakdown of the initiatives: $8 million will support a nationwide contract with Premier, Inc. to help improve data on maternal health measures and impleme... Read More »
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee and Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, released the following statement after Federal Communication Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the FCC would be looking into clarifying the meaning of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The announcement from Chairman Pai came after Twitter and Facebook censored a story by the New York Post about former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden’s alleged correspondence with representatives fro... Read More »
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), a member of the House Rules Committee and Republican Leader of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, released the following statement after the Department of Health and Human Services announced three initiatives to increase positive outcomes for maternal health. "President Trump and his administration have made tremendous efforts to protect and enhance the health of mothers. These three initiatives will help to reduce hypertension, assist breastfeeding mothers, and improve maternity care. This work builds upon the ... Read More »
October 15, 2020 Dear Friends, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services(CMS) expanded the list of telehealth services covered by Medicare. Additionally, CMS has a toolkit for states interested in expanding telehealth services for Medicaid and CHIP patients. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense announced an agreement with AstraZeneca for development and manufacturing of its investigational COVID-19 antibody cocktail. The Food and Drug Administration gave approval for Pfizer and BioNTech to test their COVID-19 vaccine candidate in children as young as 12... Read More »
by Marty Stempniak Radiology groups are continuing their full-court press on congressional leaders, seeking to avert tens of millions in Medicare cuts to the specialty arriving on Jan. 1. The latest plea came in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, imploring them to waive budget neutrality requirements. Their concerns stem from a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ plan to boost pay for primary care and other providers that bill for evaluation and management services. This necessitates a corresponding cut elsewhere that falls in the lap of ... Read More »
by Valerie Dimond Earlier this month, Rep. Michael Burgess, MD, R-Texas, and Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., proposed new legislation (H.R. 8505) that would waive the budget neutrality requirement for evaluation and management (E/M) CPT code increases mandated by the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. Proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in mid-August, and scheduled for implementation next year, title XVIII of the Social Security Act would severely hurt radiologists who are already facing large cuts in imaging volumes and strained revenue streams during the COVID-19 pandemic... Read More »
by Ripon Advance News Service U.S. Reps. Greg Walden (R-OR) and Michael Burgess (R-TX) recently called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a technology assessment of COVID-19 contact tracing applications. The lawmakers’ request would provide additional information to the U.S. House Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee Republicans’ work in contact tracing and overall oversight of response efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Rep. Walden, ranking member of the E&C Committee, and Rep. Burgess, ranking member of the E&C Health Subcommittee. They were joined in mak... Read More »
by Chris Cioffi And the winner is … democracy. Or, at least the offices of eight democratically elected members of Congress who demonstrate “that Congress can work.” The Congressional Management Foundation announced its “Democracy Award” winners this month for work on improving government transparency and fostering innovation on Capitol Hill. Those awards — which the foundation dubs the “Oscars for Congress” — recognize members and staff who aim to make Congress more effective in behind-the-scenes areas like constituent service. The nonpartisan group has been around since 1977, but the awards ... Read More »
