A total of 123 organizations have endorsed a legislative proposal aimed at strengthening Medicare payment for diagnostic imaging agents.
Supporters include societies representing radiologists and nuclear medicine professionals, device manufacturers, patient advocacy groups and pharmaceutical companies. Bipartisan members of the U.S. House and Senate reintroduced the Facilitating Access to Innovative Diagnostics, or FIND, Act earlier this year.
Currently, Medicare only reimburses for radiopharmaceuticals through a packaged system. But this can create a barrier for those who need newer nuclear imaging agents, advocates note. The FIND Act would eliminate this obstacle by requiring HHS to issue separate payment for such agents, using a per-day cost threshold of $500.
Those announcing (or restating) their support Monday included the American College of Radiology, Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, the Michael J. Fox Foundation and Eli Lilly & Co.
“It is time for Congress to expand access to these procedures and address flawed payment policy through passage of the FIND Act,” Ali Manson, VP of government relations and advocacy for ZERO Prostate Cancer, said in a Sept. 18 announcement from the supporters.
Meanwhile, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee held a hearing Tuesday to discuss the FIND Act along with several other proposals aimed at improving seniors’ access to treatments.
“In addition to novel therapies, we now have diagnostic tools that can help us detect diseases sooner, such as multicancer screening diagnostics, leading to improved patient outcomes and savings to the healthcare system,” Subcommittee Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., who is not currently listed among co-sponsors of the FIND Act, said in his opening remarks. “These tools represent another opportunity to ensure our Medicare policies strike the appropriate balance of increasing access while driving higher quality care.”
Others supporting the legislation include the American College of Nuclear Medicine, the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, the American Society of Neuroradiology, Bracco Diagnostics, GE HealthCare, the Mayo Clinic Department of Radiology and Siemens Healthineers.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.