Patient access must be protected

For seniors and a wide variety of other under-served populations, Medicare funding ensures that diagnosis and treatment is accessible and affordable. When the previous Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), it stripped $13 billion in reimbursement for medical imaging services, and now the CHAMP Act, a bill being considered by the current Congress, would cut funding even more drastically.

As the Wheeling Township Democratic Committeeman, I'm concerned about what this means for constituents. I've heard from seniors that the DRA's severe funding cuts are already forcing many facilities to stop offering diagnostic tests. Prior to the reductions, the RAND Corporation found that Americans receive only half of the recommended care they should, including imaging for breast cancer and heart disease. Now faced with potentially tens of billions of dollars in new cuts, sustaining access to critical diagnostic tests for Medicare beneficiaries will be even more of an uphill battle.

As I see it, our elected officials must intervene right away. Drastic DRA cuts must be suspended and the passage of new reductions must be blocked! The route to a healthier America relies on policies that promote the technology that reduces costs, enhances patient care and produces positive outcomes. Surely, this issue is worthy of uniting Illinois and the nation's lawmakers toward the common goal of protecting patient access to diagnostic and therapeutic medical imaging.

Pat Botterman

Arlington Heights