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Issues & Advocacy

SNMMI's mission with regard to health policy and regulatory affairs is to enhance its credibility, advance its issues, and through leadership become a valued partner among public policy stakeholders.

LATEST NEWS

December 27, 2020 — President Signs 2021 Appropriations Act, Supplements Physician Reimbursement, Provides COVID-19 Relief
Today, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 into law. The House (359 to 53) and Senate (91 to 7) passed the legislation by a vote of 359 to 53 on December 22. This is good news for physician reimbursement.
December 16, 2020 — SNMMI & Partners Take Action to Ensure Imaging Professionals are Included in Phase 1a of COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
On December 1, the CDC ACIP recommended that health care personnel who provide direct patient care be the first to receive the COVID-19 vaccination when it becomes available. SNMMI has taken action with partner organizations to support the inclusion of imaging professionals in that allocation.
December 15, 2020 — SNMMI and Coalition Support Bill Waiving Budget Neutrality in New Senate Bill
Yesterday, SNMMI and a coalition consisting of 77 medical societies sent a letter to Congress in support of S. 5007, a bill to halt pending Medicare payment cuts resulting from the planned evaluation and management (E/M) code changes slated for implementation on January 1, 2021.
December 2, 2020 — Final 2021 MPFS Rule Fails to Provide Relief, SNMMI and Coalition Lobby Congress to Protect Physician Reimbursement and Access to Care
Yesterday evening, December 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the calendar year 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule. Though SNMMI agrees with the adoption of the new evaluation and management (E/M) coding structure recommended by the American Medical Association (AMA), this will result in significant payment reductions to nuclear medicine (~8%) and radiology (~11%) services unless the government removes the budget neutrality requirements.
November 12, 2020 — SNMMI Objects to Humana’s Decision to Deny Coverage for PET/CT & SPECT/CT
On November 6, SNMMI received word regarding Humana’s recent decision [Policy Number: HCS-0506-010] to deny coverage for PET/CT (CPT codes 78429-78433) and SPECT/CT (78830, 78832) on the basis that it is “experimental/investigational” and “not identified as widely used and generally accepted for the proposed uses as reported in nationally recognized peer-reviewed medical literature.”
November 11, 2020 — SNMMI and Coalition Support Bill Waiving Budget Neutrality, Increasing Proposed Physician Reimbursement for 2021
Today, SNMMI and a coalition consisting of 73 medical societies sent a letter to Congress in support of H.R. 8702, a bill to halt pending Medicare payment cuts resulting from the planned evaluation and management (E/M) code changes slated for implementation on January 1, 2021.
October 13, 2020 — SNMMI and Partners Ask Congress to Waive Budget Neutrality for MPFS
On Friday, SNMMI and several medical societies sent a joint letter asking Congress to waive budget neutrality for the relative value unit increases in the CY 2021 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule. The CMS Proposed CY 2021 MPFS Rule increased payment rates for evaluation and management codes; however, because of budget neutrality imposed by Congress, increases would lead to huge deficits other payment rates.
October 2, 2020 — FDA-NRC Workshop: Register Now
Throughout the spring and summer, SNMMI has been working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on coordinating a workshop to be held on October 14, 2020.

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