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Senate passes bill to halt 2022 Medicare cuts
Last night, the Senate passed legislation to halt Medicare physician payment cuts that were scheduled to take effect on January 1. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law. Highlights of the physician payment provisions include a…
We need voices as well as opinions
I have a message for my colleagues on behalf of Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Political Action Committee (PAC), quoting the famous lines from Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was…
Philips announces large-scale study outcomes on use of IVUS in peripheral interventions
Royal Philips has announced the results of a new large-scale real-world analysis of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data on the health outcomes of peripheral vascular interventions guided by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). The study was conducted independently by…
SVS: Impact of Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule remains threat to patient care
The Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) final rule released Nov. 2 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) doubles down on the 3.75% cut to surgeons and surgical practices that will harm patient access to care, the Society…
SVS task force continues fight to stop cuts
The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Medicare Cuts Task Force is continuing its work to stop the proposed cuts in physician reimbursement from going through as planned in 2022. The task force was created to respond to the proposed 2022…
Cuts to Medicare: ‘As vascular disease complexity increases, reimbursement for complex care decreases’
Outgoing Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society (MVSS) President Kellie Brown, MD, has seen fundamental changes to the way vascular surgery is practiced during her 20 years as a surgeon. The advance of endovascular techniques. The arrival of the electronic medical record…
Physicians draw attention to Medicare cuts as PAD Awareness Month kicks off
A coalition of physicians and other interested parties focused on peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has called on Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to take action to avoid proposed payment cuts that would hammer vascular care,…
Medicare: Surgical Care Coalition urges Congress to halt proposed cuts to care
The proposed Medicare Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2022 (CY2022) released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fails to address pending cuts to surgical care “and therefore continues to threaten patient care by reaffirming these…
Why donate to the SVS PAC?
A few years ago, in his presidential address to the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society (MVSS), Mark Mattos, MD, spoke eloquently about the need to “protect our specialty.” A large part of this, he argued, is protecting our patients; no other…
‘Disproportionate decrease’: Vascular surgeons see buying power fall, study finds
Inflation-adjusted Medicare reimbursement rates for the 20 most common vascular surgical procedures decreased by more than 20% in the last decade, a new analysis found. The study, which looked the buying power of vascular surgeons, uncovered data showing an unadjusted…