Imaging Efforts Heat Up: As part of its overall scoring of President Obama's FY '14 budget, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently estimated that the provision to eliminate the in-office ancillary services exception (IOASE)—including advanced imaging, radiation therapy, and therapy services—would save $1.8 billion over a decade. Earlier this spring, the ACC urged Congress to reject the Obama Administration's proposed budget recommendation to eliminate the IOASE, noting that the medical profession has already taken significant steps to ensure only medically necessary and appropriate ancillary services are performed. Your ACC is stepping up activity on Capitol Hill and actively working with other stakeholders to prevent any changes to the IOASE as well as prior authorization. Stay tuned for updates.

Seeking Innovative Ideas: The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) has announced a second round of Health Care Innovation Awards. CMMI will be awarding money to organizations across the country to introduce new care innovations, particularly those that include a new payment model as a component. Your ACC would like to learn about projects that may focus on cardiovascular health and whether the College's quality measurement and improvement tools could be useful in these efforts. If you have a project that you wish to discuss with ACC, please contact Brian Whitman. Learn more about the awards.

Are You Ready for Sunshine? By law, industry is required to report payments or other transfers of value to physicians. Implementation of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, also known as the Open Payments program, begins on Aug. 1. To help you prepare, the ACC is hosting a webinar on June 27 at 2 p.m. ET that will provide an overview of the law, explain how it will affect interactions between physicians and industry, and prepare you and your practice for implementation. Reserve your spot.

Improve Your Practice From the Inside Out: Following the passage of the Affordable Care Act, practices are looking at new ways to care for their patients using different members of the care team. A webinar on June 12 at 1 p.m. ET will delve into how practices can incorporate Cardiac Care Associates, like nurse practitioners and physician assistants, to operate more effectively and seamlessly and improve patient outcomes. Participants will learn how to increase their practices' capacity at a lower cost while contributing to high-quality care and patient satisfaction. Register now.

Did You Know? If you discover that you or your practice has been overpaid by Medicare, you are required by law to repay that money. You also have an obligation to take measures to detect and prevent fraud, including implementing procedures to investigate and resolve instances of potential fraud. The OIG recently revised its protocol for self-disclosure that provides guidance on eligibility for use of the Self-Disclosure Protocol (SDP), requirements for disclosure based on the type of violation and principles for settlements under the SDP. Your ACC recommends that you consult an attorney before contacting the government regarding potential overpayments or fraud committed by you or your practice. Visit the compliance resource center on CardioSource.org for additional information.

Congressman Looks Back on Saving a Life: An article in the spring issue of Cardiology magazine takes a look at how Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), MD, used an automated external defibrillator (AED) to save a life at an airport and highlights ACC's legislative efforts in support of AEDs. Your ACC has been a long-time advocate at both the state and national level of raising awareness about these life-saving devices. The ACC recently activated a grassroots campaign in response to the Obama Administration's failure to include funding for an AED program in the FY '14 budget. Roe stressed that efforts by the ACC and other groups to increase public access to AEDs are key to saving the lives of others in similar situations. Read more about Roe's story.

Stay up-to-date on the latest Food and Drug Administration (FDA) news—from hearings to alerts and approvals—by visiting the FDA resource center on CardioSource.org and following @Cardiology on Twitter. You can also sign up for PDR Drug Alerts for immediate, electronic delivery of FDA-approved, specialty-specific Drug Alerts and related safety information:

• Free FDA-approved Drug Alerts and recalls sent electronically to you
• Elimination of the delays and inefficiencies of traditional paper alerts
• Improved patient safety which may help reduce physician liability
• Endorsement by ACC and liability carriers
• Privacy oversight from the governing not-for-profit Board, the iHealth Alliance
• CME opportunities for reviewing Drug Alerts and full FDA labels