Campaign for Patient Access
Why This Mattered to Patients
The American College of Cardiology launched this campaign in December 2009 to explain how proposed Medicare physician fee schedule cuts could reduce cardiology practices' ability to provide services. Patients were given background on the issue so they could understand how reduced Medicare payments might translate into fewer available appointments, services, or providers in their communities.
For more on the underlying policy dispute, see The Issue.
Understanding the Cuts
This section pointed patients to details on the Physician Practice Information Survey (PPIS), the data used by federal regulators to help set 2010 Medicare payment rates. The ACC argued this survey and the resulting fee schedule could unfairly reduce reimbursement for cardiovascular services.
Reports from cardiology practices in several regions described plans to scale back or eliminate certain services if the cuts moved forward, which the campaign presented as a direct concern for patients relying on cardiac care.
Ways Patients Were Encouraged to Get Involved
Share Your Story
Patients were invited to describe how the proposed Medicare cuts might affect their own access to cardiovascular care, for possible use with local media outlets as part of the campaign's outreach.
Contact Representatives
Patients were encouraged to reach out to their elected representatives to voice concerns about the potential impact of the Medicare physician fee schedule on cardiology services in their area.
Related Reading
For background on the policy debate, visit The Issue. For details on the ACC's legal challenge to the 2010 fee schedule rule, see Legal Action. Press coverage of local impacts is collected in the Newsroom.