Senate Bill to Block MPPR Cut Picks Up Three New Sponsors

Senators Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), James Risch (R-Idaho) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) have signed on to S. 2347, The Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act. This brings the total number of co-sponsors to 21. The corresponding House bill -- H.R. 3269, the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act -- has gathered 269 cosponsors. The House has 435 voting members, which means the bill would pass if all cosponsors voted for it. However, with very few days left in the legislative session and big issues on the agenda like the fiscal cliff and a fix to the sustainable growth rate (SGR) cuts to Medicare physician payments (the so-called “doc fix”), smaller bills are unlikely to be voted on this year. S. 2347 was the focus of an ACR call to action in October with the goal to build up the number of co-sponsors. More co-sponsors would help its odds in being included in a larger piece of legislation that might pass before the end of the year. At that time, Joshua Cooper, director of government relations for the ACR, said he hoped they might be able to pick up eight or nine additional co-sponsors.

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This story was updated on December 17 to reflect the addition of Senator Boozman to the bill.