Reforms would help patients on Medicare

Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) once saved my life, but now threatens to end it. The testing I underwent as part of my MDS diagnosis revealed a 90 percent blockage in my carotid artery that, if left untreated, would have almost certainly led to a stroke or heart attack. With that hurdle behind me, now I need a bone-marrow transplant to cure my MDS.

While bone marrow transplants are standard medical practice and are routinely covered and reimbursed by commercial insurers, accessing these services can be difficult for Medicare beneficiaries. Existing Medicare policy fails to fully reimburse hospitals for the costs associated with performing cellular transplants. Because of inadequate Medicare payment for bone marrow transplant, hospitals often take a financial hit when performing these procedures, limiting the number of transplant centers willing to take the loss.

Fortunately, lawmakers in the U.S. Congress have taken notice of this issue and the negative impacts it has on the approximately 1,200 people newly diagnosed with Medicare patients diagnosed with cancers of the blood each year. One of those lawmakers is Rep. Peter Roskam of the 6th District, who recently signed on to co-sponsor the Protect Access to Cellular Transplant (PACT) Act (HR 4215). The PACT Act would allow Medicare to reimburse hospitals for the cost of acquiring donor cells and performing the transplant, and the long inpatient hospital stay.

Rep. Roskam - and his bipartisan colleagues - understand that as long as transplant centers incur financial losses for providing treatments, patients' access to these treatments will suffer.

I applaud Rep. Roskam for his leadership on this issue and urge others in Congress to follow his lead by supporting the PACT Act to ensure Medicare beneficiaries with MDS and other diseases of the blood are able to access the treatment they need to survive.

Craig Wisniewski

Hoffman Estates