Bipartisan Legislation will Preserve Osteoporosis Testing

Statement

Yesterday, Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R, Texas-26) and Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D, Nevada-01) introduced the Preservation of Access to Osteoporosis Testing For Medicare Beneficiaries Act of 2011. The legislation, H.R. 2020, would maintain the current Medicare payment policy for osteoporosis testing through 2013.

"Osteoporosis and related bone diseases pose a public health issue of enormous proportions, affecting millions of Americans and costing billions of dollars," said Dr. Burgess. "As a physician, I diagnosed and treated many patients during my 25-years of practicing medicine in Texas, and I saw firsthand the way osteoporosis affects patients and their families. The more we can do to promote and encourage education, awareness, and prevention, the better. Why Medicare will pay for a fracture, but not reimburse a reasonable amount for a scan that can prevent that fracture, is beyond me."

Osteoporosis and low bone density affect more than 44 million Americans over the age of 50. Many Americans, especially seniors, are not being screened or are unaware of the steps they can take to prevent development of this disease. Half of all women and one-fourth of all men over age 50 will experience an osteoporosis related fracture in their lifetime and at a cost of almost $19 billion per year, and that cost could increase by almost 50 percent over the next two decades.

"Prevention, early diagnosis and proper treatment of osteoporosis can help reduce life-threatening fractures and generate savings for our healthcare system," said Berkley. "We know that older Americans who suffer a broken hip or other bone fracture are at greater risk of serious complications. So we can protect quality of life -- and prevent deaths -- by making sure seniors on Medicare have access to bone density screenings and can get treated if they are diagnosed with this disease. Osteoporosis and other related diseases already cost our healthcare system $19 billion per year, so we can also reduce costs by preventing more fractures through our bill. As someone who was personally diagnosed with osteoporosis, I can speak from experience about the importance of screenings and treatment so that patients can take steps to prevent further bone loss and fractures."

Early diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis has been demonstrated to dramatically reduce fracture rates and generate substantial savings. Because osteoporosis often causes no symptoms until a fracture occurs, the identification of those at risk for a potentially debilitating fracture is essential.

H.R. 2020 has been endorsed by national medical societies and patient advocate organizations, such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, and National Osteoporosis Foundation. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) introduced mirror legislation in their respective chambers.

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