{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://emmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/emmer-advocates-for-high-quality-diagnostic-care-for-medicare-beneficiaries", "Emmer Advocates for High-Quality Diagnostic Care for Medicare Beneficiaries", "2022-10-24", "2022", "2022-10", "Republican", "House", "MN", "Tom Emmer", "E000294", "emmer.house.gov", "emmer", "https://emmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congressmen Tom Emmer (MN-06) sent a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expressing concerns about the delay of the appropriate use criteria (AUC) program implementation.\n\nThe AUC program would streamline the diagnostic imaging process for Medicare patients by directing providers to use additional support mechanisms before ordering imaging tests, like CT, PET, and MRI scans. This would prevent patients from undergoing duplicative or unnecessary imaging procedures.\n\n\u201cImaging services can be an invaluable diagnostic tool for patients suffering from everything from a fractured bone to cancer,\u201d said Emmer.\n\n\u201cWithout evidence-based guidance, providers are at risk of wasting precious time, money and resources on improper testing. The Biden Administration must stop dragging their feet and finally implement the AUC program,\u201d Emmer concluded.\n\nMinnesota is a global leader in medical technology. The industry employs more than 26,500 workers and generates an additional 41,500 jobs in Minnesota alone.\n\nBackground:\n\nThe AUC program was authorized as part of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act, more than eight years ago. In July, CMS announced that they were no longer committed to their previous implementation deadline of January 1, 2023 or the year following the cessation of the current COVID public health emergency. A new timeline for implementation has yet to be announced.\n\nAt least 10-15% of orders submitted for advanced imaging do not adhere to evidence-based guidance, costing Medicare hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Implementing the AUC program will improve the efficiency and efficacy of care available to Medicare patients.\n\nYou can read the letter in full here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:34:28Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://emmer.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/emmer-advocates-for-high-quality-diagnostic-care-for-medicare-beneficiaries"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0616970248520374, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}