News in brief - July 17, 2006

Bill would put a moratorium on Medicare imaging cuts - High court takes on another "partial-birth" abortion case

Bill would put a moratorium on Medicare imaging cuts

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a bill that would delay for two years upcoming Medicare payment cuts for medical imaging services.

The proposed moratorium, which is sponsored by Rep. Joe Pitts (R, Pa.), is in response to imaging reductions that Congress approved as part of a massive deficit reduction bill in February. Starting in 2007, these cuts would affect physicians who offer imaging services in their offices and whose reimbursement for the technical portion of the scans currently exceeds what hospital outpatient departments receive for the same services.

Introduction of the bill comes just weeks after delegates at the American Medical Association's June Annual Meeting in Chicago approved a resolution calling for the delay or repeal of the provision.

High court takes on another "partial-birth" abortion case

The U.S. Supreme Court in June announced that it will hear a case challenging the federal Partial Birth Abortion Act of 2003, which outlaws performing the procedure beyond the first trimester.

"This dangerous law should be struck down, sending a message to politicians to stop legislating medicine," said Eve Gartner, senior staff attorney for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which brought the lawsuit.

Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood is the second case taken by the high court to address the constitutionality of the law because it does not include an exception for the health of the pregnant woman. In February, justices agreed to hear Gonzales v. Carhart. Attorneys say the cases are likely to be combined and oral arguments are expected to begin in the fall.

The Supreme Court in 2000 ruled against a similar measure passed in Nebraska because it lacked a health exception.