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The American College of Radiology Urges Congress to Avoid Making More Cuts to Medicare Funding of Imaging Scans
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(72 seconds)
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(OPEN):
WITH THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET-"SUPER-COMMITTEE" LOOKING AT THE SEVENTH
ROUND OF CUTS, IN SIX YEARS, FOR MEDICARE-FUNDING OF IMAGING-SCANS,
AMERICAN COLLEGE OF RADIOLOGY CHAIRMAN, DOCTOR JOHN PATTI,
SAYS THAT MORE CUTS WOULD BE DEVASTATING FOR PATIENTS...
(PATTI):
"CONGRESS HAS
SLASHED MEDICAL-IMAGING [BY] OVER FIVE-BILLION DOLLARS, SINCE
2006. IF MORE CUTS ARE MADE, MORE RADIOLOGY-CENTERS WILL CLOSE;
IMAGING WILL [THEN] CONTRACT TO THE LARGE-HOSPITAL SETTING--FORCING
SENIORS TO [BOTH] COMMUTE FARTHER, AND WAIT LONGER, [IN ORDER] TO GET
CARE. SINCE IMAGING COSTS [BOTH] MEDICARE AND PATIENTS MORE IN
HOSPITALS--AND [SINCE] LACK-OF-ACCESS WILL RESULT IN MORE ILLNESSES
[THAT ARE] UNDETECTED UNTIL ADVANCED-STAGE--THESE CUTS WILL ULTIMATELY
RAISE MEDICARE-COSTS."
(BRIDGE):
DOCTOR BIBB ALLEN--WHO CHAIRS THE COLLEGE'S "COMMISSION ON
ECONOMICS"--ADDS THAT VOTERS STRONGLY DISAPPROVE OF THE PROPOSED
CUTS...
(ALLEN):
"ACCORDING TO
OUR NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE POLL OF REGISTERED VOTERS, OVER 80-PERCENT
BELIEVE THAT DIAGNOSTIC-IMAGING IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO THE PROPER
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF MEDICAL CONDITIONS AND DISEASES--WHILE ABOUT
90-PERCENT BELIEVE THAT CUTS TO IMAGING-SERVICES WOULD IMPACT
EARLY-DETECTION."
(CLOSE):
FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT
"RADIOLOGY-SAVES-LIVES"-DOT-ORG.
