In a statement provided to Health Imaging News about the proposed rule on the physician fee schedule for 2008 which cuts physician reimbursement across the board by 9.9 percent, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) said the college opposes these cuts which could have an impact on a physician's ability to treat additional Medicare patients. The ACC is working with Congress to stop the cuts and find a permanent solution to the flawed formula used to calculate physician payment.

The ACC opposes the rule’s proposal to adopt the RUC recommendation to bundle CPT code 93325 (Doppler echocardiography color flow velocity mapping) with other echocardiography services. 

The ACC is currently reviewing the rule and will provide more information to its members in the coming weeks regarding specific impacts to imaging and other cardiovascular services, coding changes, and possible implications for PQRI.  The rule not only contains the proposed 2008 PQRI measures, but Congress had directed CMS to address possible clinical data registry participation in PQRI in 2008.