Although it takes a member of the House or the Senate to bring legislation before Congress, Eric Davis's support for the bill I authored along with Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman is of equal importance in our quest to ensure this bill becomes a law. His celebrity will draw attention to our legislation and persuade constituents to urge their own Senators and Representatives to support it. More important, his celebrity heightens public awareness of the need for regular colon cancer screenings and removes the stigma that some feel in talking about this deadly disease. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States for both men and women: more than 57,000 Americans will die from this disease this year.
The sad irony is that cancer of the colon is probably the most treatable and survivable of +all cancers, but only if it is caught early. If detected and treated early, colon cancer is curable in more than 90 percent of diagnosed cases. Conversely, if the cancer is detected in an advanced stage, death rates are high. As many as 92 percent of these patients will die within five years.
Despite the fact that we have extremely effective screening tests for colon cancer, our screening rates for colon cancer – even among those Americans who are most at risk – are woefully low. Moreover, even the addition in 1998 of a new Medicare benefit covering these services has not improved the situation.
In 2000, the General Accounting Office (GAO) conducted a review of claims data to determine the extent to which this new preventive health service has been used. According to the GAO, only 3.8 percent of Medicare patients received either a screening or diagnostic colonoscopy in 1999 – far below the recommended use rates and just a one percent increase over the rate in 1995.
Clearly we must find ways to heighten public awareness about the importance of colon cancer screening and remove any remaining barriers that may be preventing Medicare beneficiaries from receiving these critically important services. While the GAO identified a lack of patient awareness, understanding and inclination as the most significant factors inhibiting the use of colorectal cancer screening services, it also found that physician practices affect screening rates. One factor is the inadequate Medicare reimbursement rates to cover the costs involved.
Medicare reimbursement rates for this procedure have declined in recent years and are almost universally lower than reimbursements under private insurance. Moreover, in many States, the Medicare rates are lower than Medicaid rates. Our legislation will therefore increase the Medicare payment rates for colonoscopies performed in both hospitals and outpatient settings. Specifically, the payment rates in hospitals and outpatient facilities would be increased by 30 percent, while payment for procedures done in physician's offices would be increased by 10 percent.
Our legislation will also require Medicare to provide reimbursements for pre-procedure consultations to ensure that beneficiaries are properly prepared and educated before they undergo a screening colonoscopy. Medicare currently only pays for the pre-procedure appointment prior to a diagnostic colonoscopy. This pre-procedure visit is no less necessary in the case of a screening colonoscopy and should be covered.
Finally, under our legislation, the normal deductible will not apply for screening colonoscopy, just as it does not apply for screening mammography. This will remove a financial disincentive for seniors to seek screening and increase the likelihood that they will undergo screening colonoscopy.
I am hopeful that our legislation will not only increase Medicare patients's access to life-saving colon cancer screening, but also increase awareness of the need for these vital screenings. I am pleased that Eric Davis has made advocating for our legislation part of his extraordinary commitment to this cause. I look forward to the swift approval of Colon Cancer Screen for Life Act so that we can improve treatment and early detection of colon cancer.