Technology Acquisition under Prospective Payment

To the Editor: The negative impact of Medicare's diagnosis-related-group (DRG) pricing system on the acquisition and use of new medical technology may be even more devastating than Anderson and Steinberg conclude (July 19 issue). Recent action by the Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services serves to intensify the bias against technology embedded in the present DRG system. The 1 per cent addition granted by Congress in both the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 and the Social Security Amendments of 1983 was reduced to a quarter of 1 per cent in the Deficit Reduction Act.