Industry Alliances

Cardiology Advocacy Alliance

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CAA Overview

Created in 2005 as the advocacy offshoot of MedAxiom, the Cardiology Advocacy Alliance (CAA) is a nonprofit organization that represents the interests of more than 5,000 private practice cardiologists in the United States. CAA educates the professional cardiovascular community about regulatory and legislative issues that affect their ability to provide high-quality patient care; represents the common interests of the cardiovascular patient and professional on such issues; and encourages its members to advocate for their patients and their practices.

In 2009, CAA fought strongly against Medicare’s proposed/final 2010 Physician Fee Schedule, which will cut reimbursement by 15 percent or more and includes deeper cuts for years 2011 and beyond. CAA created a public awareness campaign (GuardingHeartsAlliance.org) to enlist the help of cardiology patients, worked tirelessly on Capitol Hill to find a legislative solution to reduce the impact of the PFS on cardiology and joined a lawsuit against Health and Human Services in an attempt to halt implementation of the Rule. It continues the fight against the cuts and the resulting access issues for patients in 2010 by garnering Congressional support for HR 4371, which would restore Medicare reimbursement for cardiology to 2009 rates while leaving other specialties at the 2010 fee schedule. Other priorities include keeping the equipment utilization rate assumption steady for nuclear and echo procedures; preserving the in-office ancillary services exemption and protecting physcians’ right to own assets, including imaging equipment and hospitals; issues from the healthcare reform legislation; and meaningful use implementation.

A Call To Action

Passive participation is no longer enough to assure a successful future for cardiology practices. Many voices are stronger than one voice, and we all must band together to make sure that the prospects for cardiology remain bright.

Face it, if If cardiology practices do not begin to lobby like other subspecialties, the rights of cardiologists will be dramatically reduced. Cardiology as we know it will change into a more restricted practice with lower reimbursement rates and limited diagnostic authority. Only we can ensure that the standards of our practice is preserved. Get involved today!

The Cardiology Advocacy Alliance (CAA) lobbies at both the grassroots and national levels to assure that the needs and concerns of cardiologists and cardiology practices are presented during legislative sessions. The Alliance is a vehicle for MedAxiom executives, physicians and industry partners to engage in the federal legislative process. These legal issues have an impact on:

• Patient-care quality
• Access to services
• Covered services
• Reimbursement methodologies
• The right to perform certain diagnostic procedures

Assure the future of your practice by joining the CAA today. For questions, please contact Margo Burrage at mburrage@cardiologycaa.com or Pat White at pwhite@medaxiom.com.

CAA Washington Advocacy

Each Spring and Fall, CAA physicians and administrators descend on Capitol Hill to share their concerns about imaging cuts, Medicare reform, imaging access and reimbursement, physician ownership and other key issues. The 2010 Spring Fly-In was held in April, and the 2010 Fall Fly-In will be held October 12-13 in Washington DC. immediately prior to MedAxiom’s Spring Conference. “After attending CAA’s fly-in, the importance of establishing relationships and offering to be a resource for accurate information became brutally clear to me,” said first-time fly-in participant Valerie DeVine of Berks Cardiologists Ltd., PA. “It could not have been any easier – all we had to do was show up and discuss what most of us are passionate about: our day-to-day lives and how our practices, patients and employees are affected by legislative decisions. The information and guidance by the CAA gave us all we needed for a successful encounter.”

Click here to see upcoming events for the CAA