The other candidate, Dr. George W. Shannon, pointed out that lawsuits can take a long time to resolve and could go past the March 2012 deadline for the RUC response. He prefers the current strategy to approach the RUC and request greater representation.
Each candidate also was asked: If March 2012 arrives and there is still no significant change in the RUC, what will be your recommendation?
"The head of CMS wants a viable alternative on the table. That’s why we have a new task force," Dr. Cain said. "We are using the time right now to develop an alternative method."
"It was a professional, collegial move sending a letter and outlining what our difficulties are, giving RUC two meeting cycles to respond, and saying no matter what they respond, we are going to evaluate," Dr. Shannon said.
Dr. Heim, Dr. Goertz, Dr. Cain, and Dr. Shannon said that they had no relevant financial disclosures.