Alzheimer’s, imaging advocates push for amyloid PET coverage on Capitol Hill
Advocates in the imaging industry this week are pushing for better coverage of amyloid PET scans to help to improve treatment and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
The Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance, among other agencies, hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, aimed at shining a spotlight on this issue. They’re pushing hard for passage of the Medicare Diagnostic Radiopharmaceutical Payment Equity Act of 2019 (HR 3772), which would shore up coverage for this imaging test, MITA noted.
“Passage of HR 3772 is critical for the millions of Alzheimer’s patients who deserve access to these groundbreaking diagnostic tools,” Sue Bunning, industry director of molecular imaging and PET, said at the event, according to a MITA recap.
The Council on Radionuclides and Radiopharmaceuticals and Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging joined MITA on the Hill as cohosts of the Jan. 29 event. Alzheimer’s patient Geri Taylor and her husband, Jim, also spoke during the briefing, sharing the difference that PET has made in helping them understand the disease.
“Geri and I are here because we so adamantly believe that the coverage and payment issues related to Alzheimer’s PET scans must be corrected,” Jim Taylor said.
Currently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services bundles radiopharmaceuticals—such as the one used in amyloid PET scans—together as part of the cost of procedures in hospital outpatient settings, the hosts noted. However, this current payment structure discourages providers from using treatment tools.
A bipartisan group of House representatives introduced HR 3772 last year as a means to address any payment barriers, but the legislation has yet to reach the finish line.
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.