I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5704 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a budget- 
neutral two-year moratorium on certain Medicare physician payment 
reductions for imaging services. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 28, 2006 
Mr. PITTS (for himself, Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
BASS, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. HALL, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. 
SHIMKUS, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GENE GREEN 
of Texas, Mr. INSLEE, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. ROSS, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. WYNN, 
Mrs. MCCARTHY, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of 
Virginia, Mr. MCNULTY, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. DENT, Mr. 
FITZPATRICK
of Pennsylvania, Mr. SAM
JOHNSON
of Texas, Mr. 
LATOURETTE, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
PRICE of Georgia, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. SCHWARZ of Michigan, Mr. 
SAXTON, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. SOUDER, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
WELLER, Mr. BOYD, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. HINCHEY, Ms. 
JACKSON-LEE of Texas, and Mr. JEFFERSON) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 
in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
for a budget-neutral two-year moratorium on certain 
Medicare physician payment reductions for imaging serv-
ices. 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to Medicare 
Imaging Act of 2006’’. 
SEC. 2. BUDGET-NEUTRAL TWO-YEAR MORATORIUM ON 
CERTAIN MEDICARE PHYSICIAN PAYMENT 
REDUCTIONS FOR IMAGING SERVICES. 
(a) 
MORATORIUM.—Subsections 
(b)(4)(A) 
and 
(c)(2)(B)(v)(II) of section 1848 of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1395w–4), as added by section 5102 of the 
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, are each amended by strik-
ing ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2009’’. 
(b) BUDGET NEUTRALITY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law (including subclause (II) of section 
1848(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395w–4(c)(2)(B)(ii)), for 2007 and for 
2008 the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
shall reduce the payment amounts otherwise pro-
vided under this part and part A (and not under 
parts C and D) in a manner so as to provide for a 
reduction in aggregate expenditures under this part 
and part A for each such year of an amount equiva-
lent to the increase in expenditures under such sec-
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tion for such year that the Secretary estimates will 
result from the application of the amendments made 
by subsection (a). 
(2) NO EFFECT ON SUBSEQUENT PERIODS.— 
The reduction in payment effected under paragraph 
(1) for a year shall not apply to (or be taken into 
account in) the computation of payment amounts for 
a subsequent year. 
(c) GAO STUDY ON PATIENT ACCESS TO IMAGING 
SERVICES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of 
the United States shall conduct a comprehensive 
study on patient access and service issues relating to 
the availability and quality of imaging services in 
physician offices and freestanding clinics that would 
have resulted (but for subsection (a)) from payment 
changes made by the amendments made by section 
5102(b) of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. 
(2) DETAILS.—Such study also shall examine— 
(A) reductions in review application to 
multiple procedure reductions multiple proce-
dures and additional reductions associated with 
changes in physician practice expense, with par-
ticular attention to rural and medically under-
served areas; and 
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(B) the appropriateness of using the hos-
pital outpatient department prospective pay-
ment system methodology to set reimbursement 
under the medicare program for all imaging 
services, regardless of site of service. 
(3) REPORT.—Not later than July 31, 2008, 
the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress 
and the Secretary of Health and Human Services a 
report on the study under this subsection and shall 
include in the report such recommendations regard-
ing extending the moratorium imposed under the 
amendments made by subsection (a) or such other 
changes in medicare reimbursement for imaging 
services as the Comptroller General deems appro-
priate. 
Æ 
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