In July 2014, DHPA wrote to Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to express support for his legislation, the “Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2014.” The act sought to remove a Medicare loophole that required patients to pay a co-pay if a polyp was discovered and removed during a routine diagnostic colonoscopy — a procedure […]
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Remove Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening
Currently, seniors are not charged coinsurance for a routine colonoscopy screening. However, if a polyp is discovered during the screening and removed, which is the appropriate standard of care, seniors face paying high coinsurance fees. This occurs because the removal of the polyps or tissue triggers a change in the classification of the service provided from a “screening” service to a “therapeutic” or “diagnostic” service under Medicare’s billing codes. Thus, patients are often surprised by these out-of-pocket costs for what ends up being a potentially life-saving, medically necessary procedure.
DHPA strongly supports the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act (H.R. 1570 S. 668), bipartisan legislation to remove financial barriers to life-saving colorectal cancer screenings and treatment for Medicare beneficiaries. The legislation, introduced by Congressmen Dent (R-PA-15) and Payne (D-NJ-10), as well as Senators Brown (D-OH), Wicker (R-MS) enjoys broad, bipartisan support in both chambers.