No congressional rescue

The American College of Radiology’s ad (Dec. 5) praising Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers misleads her constituents. HR 3269 has been stuck in committee since October. It is not law. She was one of the bill’s 30 original co-sponsors. The bill likely will never come to a vote because it was crafted in anticipation of the supercommittee arriving at a compromise that Congress could proceed to pluck apart at the hands of competing interest groups, the ACR among them.

McMorris Rodgers did not “ride to the rescue” of Medicare recipients. She signed on to a bill that has over 100 co-sponsors. The bill was in answer to Medicare’s proposal to reduce payments to providers when multiple radiologists read the same scan on the same day. The bill would insure those payments are not reduced.

I don’t know if multiple radiologists reading the same X-ray on the same day should all get the same fee. I don’t have a problem with radiologists making a good living. I take issue with special interests laying out large sums of money to create a false impression that the representative supports Medicare patients.

Maybe McMorris Rodgers should send the ACR a thank-you note.

Tom Bogley

Nine Mile Falls