Manufacturers Form Cardiac PET Industry Coalition

Manufacturers in cardiac PET imaging launched the Cardiac PET Industry Coalition (CPIC), an initiative dedicated to promoting federal policies that advance health outcomes for patients with cardiovascular disease and the availability of cardiac PET diagnostics. CPIC will champion fair and transparent coverage and reimbursement policies that facilitate access to cardiac PET, align practitioners with regard to research opportunities, highlight the clinical and economic benefit of this modality, and provide expanded opportunities to educate healthcare providers and policymakers on the overall value of cardiac PET.

CPIC formed under the leadership of its three founding members and Board of Directors – CDL Nuclear Technologies, Bracco Diagnostics, and Siemens Healthineers – in response to the call for a stronger voice and representation of cardiac PET in Washington, DC.

"CPIC is built on the industry's past successes reversing proposed cuts to cardiac PET in 2020 and securing the support of a significant number of bipartisan Members of Congress who weighed in," said Lon Wilson, President of the CPIC Board of Directors and CEO and Chief Radiation Safety Officer of both CDL Nuclear and CardioNavix. "Continuing our unified efforts under the umbrella of CPIC will ensure that all perspectives are represented in future legislative and regulatory discussions and that sound policies are advanced. I am extremely proud to be a founding member of this organization."

"The clinical benefits of cardiac PET imaging are well-documented for making patient care and treatment decisions. The modality provides valuable clinical information for the effective management of patients with cardiovascular disease," stated Kim McDaniel, Executive Director of Nuclear Medicine at Bracco Diagnostics and CPIC Board of Directors member. "I'm proud of the work the Coalition is doing to increase awareness, maintain appropriate reimbursement and expand the adoption of cardiac PET imaging."

"As a country, we should be working to eliminate obstacles to adoption of this premier technology," said Walt Stenborg, Senior Director of Marketing and Sales Operations for the Molecular Imaging Team at Siemens Healthineers. "Instead, Medicare and other payers continue to propose policies that would restrict or discourage adoption and use of cardiac PET, which ultimately will result in poorer outcomes, encourage the use of lesser quality diagnostics for additional testing, and increase costs to the patient and the health care system overall."

CPIC membership includes top cardiac PET manufacturers and suppliers and is rapidly growing. In accordance with its mission, CPIC already is fulfilling its commitment to federal advocacy by submitting robust comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Calendar Year 2024 final payment rules, engaging with stakeholders in the cardiac community, and developing a 2024 policy agenda.