For Release: October 2, 2000, 1:00 P.M.
Contact: Michael Bernstein(703) 648-8910 [email protected]
ACR Opposes Move to Weaken Self-Referral Legislation for Physicians,Says It Could Cost Health Programs More Than $400 Million
The American College of Radiology (ACR) today said that a move to severely weaken the existing physician self-referral law could result in the loss of more than $400 million in savings that could be applied to urgent medical programs, such as providing prescription drugs for Medicare patients.
In an effort to dilute the power of the law, which now prohibits a doctor from referring patients for tests to a facility owned by that same doctor, Rep. William Thomas (R-CA) tomorrow reportedly will attach his bill, H.R. 2651, the Physician Self-Referral Amendments of 1999, to the Balanced Budget Act of 2000 package
"The Thomas legislation dramatically weakens the self-referral law and creates loopholes for physicians to refer patients for tests at their own facilities," said Harvey L. Neiman, M.D., chairman of the ACR Board of Chancellors. "This self-referral law has been and will continue to be one of the most successful healthcare cost-saving, anti-fraud and abuse measures ever enacted and we oppose any attempt to water it down." He added that "now, when the federal government is spending millions to fight fraud and abuse, Representative Thomas wants to disable one of the government's more successful efforts to curb one form of this abuse: self-referral."
According to Dr. Neiman, the Congressional Budget Office projects the savings from the self-referral law at more than $400 million over the next seven years.
Dr. Neiman pointed out that studies have clearly shown that doctors who refer patients for tests at facilities where they have a financial interest are more likely to order tests than doctors who do not have such a financial interest. "This practice has resulted in patients being subjected to unnecessary radiological tests as well as government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid and private insurers being subjected to higher costs," he said.
The ACR has been a longtime supporter of self-referral prohibitions. It was one of the few physician organizations that fought for the law in 1992 after it realized that physicians who had a financial stake in facilities where they referred patients were over-utilizing services. This finding not only questioned the validity of some patient services, but also uncovered unnecessary expenses being paid by patients and third party payers, including Medicare.
"In the interest of patient safety and fiscal responsibility the American College of Radiology urges members of the House Ways and Means Committee to reject the legislation proposed by Representative Thomas," Dr. Neiman said.
##
RSS