SVS Working to Expand AAA Medicare Screening Benefit

SVS PAC Funds Needed to Ensure Vascular Surgeons’ Voices Are Heard

News from the SVS

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H.R. 1213, the Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently (SAAAVE) Act of 2009 is currently before Congress. Representatives Gene Green (D-TX) and John Shimkus (R-IL) sponsored this important legislation to unlink the Medicare AAA screening benefit from the Welcome to Medicare Physical Exam and extend it to 65 – 75 year-old at-risk Medicare beneficiaries. SVS worked to place H.R. 1213 before Congress in an effort to make the benefit more available to seniors. A companion bill in the Senate should be introduced shortly.

The SAAAVE Act of 2009 provides “corrections” to the original SAAAVE Act, which was included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and became effective on January 1, 2007. Because AAA screening is tied to the Welcome to Medicare Physical Exam, which is only available during the first year of Medicare eligibility, many at-risk beneficiaries are not getting screened. Fewer than 10,000 beneficiaries were screened in 2007. Tell your Representative how important this legislation is by sending a letter to him/her about this important Medicare prevention issue. A sample letter is available online.

Supporting this important legislation is just one of the initiatives SVS is focused on. To keep the momentum going, the SVS PAC needs a major influx of funding. With many new members of Congress and a new President, the focus of the 2009 health care agenda has changed to physician payment/health care reform. There are also new members on Congressional committees that have jurisdiction over this agenda.

According to SVS PAC Chairman Carlo Dall’Olmo, MD, “One of the best ways to gain access to members of Congress and get the vascular surgeons’ message heard is by attending PAC events in Washington, DC and Congressional districts. Attending these events gives SVS the opportunity to build critically important relationships with key members of Congress.” Make a contribution to SVS PAC online.

Another way to contribute is to volunteer as a Key Contact to your member of Congress and/or two Senators by staying in contact with them and meeting with them in their district offices. Contact Pam Phillips, SVS director of health policy and government relations at pphillips@vascularsociety.org to discuss these issues and get involved.

Contact the Editor at vascularspecialist@vascularsociety.org.

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