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Please let us know if we can provide any additional information on administration of

[Page: H11226]  GPO's PDF

    Sincerely,

    Mike Dugan,
President and CEO.

--

   American College of Gastroenterology,

   Arlington, VA, October 19, 2000.
Hon. William V. Roth, Jr.,
Chairman, Committee on Finance, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC.

   Dear Chairman Roth: The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) wants to be among the first to applaud you and the other Members of the Senate and House of Representatives for your work in shaping fair and equitable Medicare-related provisions for the pending Balanced Budget Act legislation. Although in the short time afforded us to review the bill, we have not had the chance to evaluate all aspects and ramifications of all the provisions of the legislation, we are particularly supportive and appreciative that the current bill includes an important provision that will enhance the Medicare colorectal cancer scree ning benefit to offer for the first time beneficiaries who are at average risk of colorectal cancer the option of receiving a colonoscopy once every ten years, instead of a flexible sigmoidoscopy every four years. This is a very essential step forward in advancing patient options and public health.

   As you know, we remain deeply concerned about the site-of-service problem for those procedures with less than 10% office volume, and particularly the lower and inadequate physician professional fee for those services that are performed in a Medicare-certified ambulatory sur gery center, or the hospital outpatient department. We are also concerned that so few Medicare beneficiaries are availi ng themselves of the cancer screening benefit you have so wisely provided. With only 1% of Medicare beneficiaries actually u sing this preventive benefit, according to GAO, we continue to believe that this benefit will fall far short of its potential and that the proposed new study in Section 411 is more likely to delay and possibly confuse the problem. Just as we learned with pap smears and cervical cancer, we believe if will be necessary for Congress to intervene to reverse a HCFA-driven economic/reimbursement policy which serves to undercut the Medicare colorectal cancer benefit by financially penalizing physicians who perform colorectal cancer screenings.

   We look forward to working with you at the earliest appropriate time to deal with the site-of-service issue and find ways to increase the use of these life-saving screenings.

   Very truly yours,

   Rowen K. Zetterman, M.D., FACS,
President.

   FEDERAL AFFAIRS DIVISION,

   AMERICAN ACADEMY OF

   OPHTHALMOLOGY,

   Washington, DC, October 19, 2000.
Hon. William M. Thomas,
Chairman, House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, Longworth House Office Building,
Washington, DC.

   Dear Chairman Thomas: The American Academy of Ophthalmology congratulates you on completion of a Medicare refinement and benefits i mprovement bill and we call on Congress to quickly pass the Medicare Refinement and Benefits I mprovement Act of 2000.

   Although we are disappointed that the committee did not include the much needed relief for specialists from Medicare practice expense cuts sch eduled for 2001, we hope to work with you next year to get the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to make the refinements necessary to protect beneficiaries' access to life saving and sight saving procedures that have been adversely impacted. The practice expense cuts come on top of a decade of cuts that speciality physicians like ophthalmologists have experienced in an effort to protect the solvency of the Medicare program. The committee's decision to include several new Medicare benefits and other progra m improvements for beneficiaries, however, is highly significant and must be commended.

   Specifically, this bill reaches out to our nation's seniors to help preserve their sight and independence by providing a glaucoma detection eye examination once every two years to those beneficiaries at high risk of developing glaucoma such as African Americans and those with a family history.

   It is time to address the devastating effects of glaucoma. The scientific verdict is in--treatment for glaucoma is effective and can preserve sight and quality of life. An estimated 120,000 Americans are legally blind due to glaucoma, and estimates show at least 2 to 3 million people have glaucoma although half are not aware of it. Glaucoma affects 2 to 3 percent of the nation's seniors and another 5 to 10 million individuals have elevated intraocular pressure--a risk factor for developing glaucoma. African Americans are six to eight times more likely to develop glaucoma than other populations. Other risk factors include family history and advanced age.

   Early detection is the key to saving sight and this bill helps those who need it. The Academy is pleased to support the Medicare Refinement and Benefits I mprovement Act of 2000.

   Sincerely,

   William L. Rich III, MD,
Secretary for Federal Affairs.

--

   PRESIDENT,

   AMERICAN OPTOMETRIC ASSOCIATION,

   St. Louis, MO, October 19, 2000.
Hon. William V. Roth, Jr.,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

   Dear Senator Roth: The American Optometric Association applauds your efforts to include new and important benefits in the pending Medicare Refinement Package. The A merican Optometric Association (AOA) represents the interests of more than 30,000 Doctors of Optometry and their patients.

   We are particularly pleased that the glaucoma eye examination benefit is a part of this package. This bi-partisan supported provision is an important step in preventing blindness due to undetected glaucoma. The National Eye Institute has estimat ed that almost three million Americans have glaucoma. Half of these people are not aware that they have the disease. Of those who have been diagnosed with glaucoma, about 120,000 are blind. Moreover, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in older adults. Although glaucoma can often be controlled if it is diagnosed early, in may Americans the disease goes untreated, leading to visual impairment or blindness. Because there are no early warning signs, this disease often develops undetected until permanent vision loss has occurred.

   Again, the AOA appreciates inclusion of this important preventive service in the Medicare Refinement and Benefits I mprovement Act. It is an important part of ongoing efforts to improve public health and prevent unnecessary vision loss.

   Sincerely,
Howard J. Braverman, O.P.

--

   THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION,

   CHICAGO, IL, OCTOBER 19, 2000.
Hon. BILL ROTH, Chairman,
Hon. DANIEL PATRICK MOYNIHAN,
Senate Finance Committee, Washington, DC.
Hon. BILL ARCHER, Chairman,
Hon. CHARLES RANGEL,
House Ways and Means Committee, Washington, DC.
Hon. TOM BLILEY, Chairman,
Hon. JOHN DINGELL,
House Commerce Committee, Washington, DC.
Hon. BILL THOMAS, Chairman,
Hon. PETE STARK,
Health Subcommittee, House Ways and Means Committee, Washington, DC.
Hon. MIKE BILIRAKIS, Chairman,
Hon. SHERROD BROWN,
Health Subcommittee, House Commerce Committee, Washington, DC.

   DEAR CHAIRMAN AND RANKING MEMBERS: The American Dietetic Association is pleased to support the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benef its Improvement Act of 2000 which provides critical support to Medicare providers while enhancing benefits for our nation's senior citizens. In particular, we are pleased that the legislation includes coverage of medical nutrition ther apy for pat ients with diabetes and kidney disease. We believe this is an important first step in providing this critical service to all Medicare beneficiaries and we urge enactment of this legislation.

   Nutrition therapy has been shown to be effective in the management and treatment of many chronic conditions which affect Medicare beneficiaries, including dyslipidemia, hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and chronic renal insufficiency. Medicare beneficiaries undergoing cancer treatment may also benefit from nutrition therapy aimed at controlling side effects or improving food intake. In fact, a recent study, conducted by the National Academy of Sciences Insti tute of Medicare and requested by Congres s in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, concluded that medical nutrition therapy--upon p hysician referral--should be a covered benefit under the Medicare program.

 ; & nbsp;The 70,000 members of the American Dietetic Association look forward to working with you to ensure that all Medicare beneficiaries have access to medical nutrition therapy and, as a result, see a significant improvement in their health and quality of life.

   Sincerely,

   Jane V. White, PhD, RD, LDN
President.

--

   October 19, 2000.
Hon. WILLIAM V. ROTH, Jr.,
Senate Finance Committee, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.

   DEAR CHAIRMAN ROTH: The American Association of Blood Banks, America's Blood Center, and the American Red Cross would like to express our support for the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benef iciary Protection and Improvement Act of 2000. We are pleased that Section 301 of the final conference agreement contains both the House and Senate provisions concerning blood and blood products. We would especially like to thank you, Senator Hatch and Chairman Thomas for your tremendous leadership on blood safety and reimbursement concerns.

   The blood banking community believes the House provision pertaining to blood is needed to ensure that the Health Care Financing Administration accurately reflects the costs of blood and blood products in the next revision of inpatient reimbursement rates. The Senate provision is needed to ensure that the current system will be able to account for future blood safety costs in a timely manner.

[Page: H11227]  GPO's PDF

   Once again, we appreciate and commend your efforts to address reimbursement for blood and blood products in legislation this year. Your efforts will help ensure that patients across the country have access to state-of-the-art blood products and services and the safest possible blood supply.

   Sincerely yours,

--

   ADVANCED MEDICAL

   TECH NOLOGY ASSOCIATION,

   Washington, DC, October 20, 2000.
Hon. BILL THOMAS,
Chairman, Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, Washington, DC.

   DEAR CHAIRMAN THOMAS: On behalf of the Advanced Medical Technology Association (A dvaMed), its more than 800 member companies, and the millions of Medicare patients whose lives are saved and improved by our innovative medical tests and treatments each year, I am writing to endorse the Medicare Refinements legislation n ow before Congress. This bill takes important, needed steps to strengthen the program and ensure seniors' access to quality health care. We hope that the President will sign it into law.

   The Medicare Refinements package will protect seniors' access to important medical services and expand and e stablish new preventive health benefits like screening for cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, and glaucoma.

   Building on important first steps taken in the Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999, the bill includes additional changes to improve seniors' health by ensuring access to the latest advances in medical technology. Key provision s in this area will:

   Create new payment and coding mechanisms to improve access to new hospital inpatient technologies;

   Establish special payment categories for innovative medical devices under the new hos pital outpatient payment system;

   Mandate special methods to pay for breakthrough diagnostic tests and require Medicare to set clear, open proced ures for coding and payment decisions;

   Require Medicare to issue annual reports t o Congress on how long it takes to make coverage, coding, and payment deci sions; and

   Strengthen seniors' right to appeal a non-coverage decision for a new medica l technology.

 &nbs p; Once enacted, these provisions will ensure that all seniors, regardless of where they seek medical treatment, have access to the life-saving and life-enhancing technologies and procures they need.

   It would be a disservice to the 39 million seniors and people with disabilities who will benefit from your Medicare bill if I did not bring t o your attention now a separate Medicare patient access issue. We just learned from HCFA on October 18th that outpatient ``pass-through'' payments for new medical technologies and medicine s will be cut by 50% on Jan. 1, 2001. The Agency is taking this action despite its prior commitment in an April 7 regulation not to consider any cuts until 2002.

   These severe and unexpected payment reductions could significantly restrict patients' ability to receive innovative treatments in this setting, forcing them to receive more costly and time-consuming inpatient procedures. The late hour at which HCFA disclosed these cuts and the serious implications they hold for Medicare patient access to medical technology compel me to ra ise the issue at this time. We hope that you will encourage HCFA to administratively delay these reductions until 2002 when the agency has had time to gather more complete data.

   We greatly appreciate the sustained efforts you are making to oversee the Medicare program and make sure it c ontinues to deliver essential health care services to seniors in the 21st century. Your work will greatly benefit the millions of seniors and people with disabilities who are covered by this program in the years to come.

   Thank you for your leadership in this area. We wholeheartedly support your efforts to ensure seniors get the health care services they need and look forward to continuing to work with you toward this goal.

   Sincerely,

   Pam Bailey.

--

   GE MEDICAL SYSTEMS,

  &n bsp;GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY,

   Milwaukee, WI, October 19, 2000.
Hon. J. DENNIS HASTERT,
Office of the Speaker of the House,
Washington, DC.
Hon. TRENT LOTT,
Office of the Senate Majority Leader,
Washington, DC.

   DEAR SPEAKER HASTERT AND MAJORITY LEADER LOTT: GE Medical Systems strongly supports the Medicare Balanced Budget Refinement Leadership Compromise Package that provides for differential reimbursement for new technology associated with screening mammography.

   GE Medical Systems--a global leader i n medical diagnostic equipment, serv ices, and health care information management--is committed to ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries have access to breast cancer screening using the latest advances in medical technology. In partnership with the U.S. government, we have invested significant resources in the development of digital mammography technology that holds the promise for dramatically improving patient outcomes through early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. The compromise package provides for adjustment of Medicare payment rates for screenin g mammography to reflect the costs associated with new technology advances like digital mammography.

   We welcome the opportunity to work with the leadership to ensure that access to the benefits of digital mammography technology is a reality for Medicare beneficiaries. Thank you f or your support of this important initiative.

   Sincerely,
Jeff Immelt.

--

   For the last two years, many others and I have spent significant time and effort in asking Congress to restore funding reduced by the draconian cuts imposed in 1997. We have demonstrated the short and long range negative effects on the overall quality and stability of our industry as a result of the cuts. We greatly fear that the health care industry may not be capable to meet the needs of the public, much less the increased demand of the baby boomer generation. We have been able to convince a large number of members to begin to restore funding both in 1999 and this year. While the restorations are not significant compared to the cuts, they are at least a move in the right direction.

   This year we had at least hoped to receive more than one year of restoration, but settled in recent days for one year, appreciative of the Medicare and Medicaid DSH increases and the 70% bad debt allowances. We fear any last minute efforts may deter the final package. As we said before, this would be devastating. Therefore, while we appreciate your efforts to provide hospitals a more equitable share of the restoration, we ask you to assure passage of the bill this session.

   Thank you for your interest.

   Sincerely,
PHYLLIS LANDRIEU.

--

   ASSOCIATION OF SURGICAL

   TECHNOLOGISTS,

   Englewood, CO, October 19, 2000.
Hon. DENNY HASTERT,
Speaker of the House,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Hon. TRENT LOTT
Majority Leader,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

   DEAR SPEAKER HASTERT AND MAJORITY LEADER LOTT: This letter is written in support of the agreement you have reached on Medicare and Medicaid refinement leg islation. As you know, this bill makes a number of important changes that will greatly enhance the ability of hospitals to continue to delivery high-quality, cost-effective health care.

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