March 2005 | Vol. 23, No. 3

New AAA Screening Bill Introduced in 109th Congress

In an effort to address a serious health risk for elderly Americans, U.S. Representatives John Shimkus (R- IL), Gene Green (D-TX), and Ron Lewis (R-KY) have introduced the Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently (SAAAVE) Act (HR 827), an initiative that would direct Medicare to cover abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening. AAA is one of our nation's most preventable but often neglected conditions taking approximately 15,000 American lives a year.

"Through the national education and information campaign that the SAAAVE Act provides for, I believe we can increase awareness for both physicians and patients about this condition that takes so many lives each year," said Rep. Shimkus (R- IL). "I look forward to working with my House colleagues to bring AAA screening to the forefront of discussions on preventive care for our seniors."

"The recent recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force confirms that abdominal aortic aneurysm screenings are a sound health care investment," Rep. Green (D-TX) said. "Since AAA can strike suddenly and typically is not detected during physical exams, screening based on risk factors is clearly the most effective and often the only way to detect AAA before it ruptures. While we welcomed the Task Force's recommendation, we consider it merely a first step toward protecting seniors against this silent killer. Our bill takes the necessary steps forward and recognizes the several risk factors at play in AAA, so that all seniors at risk for this condition will get the detection and the treatment they need."

"The SAAAVE Act will provide easy, affordable exams for seniors, most vulnerable to this deadly condition," said Rep. Lewis (R-KY).
AAA is an abnormal expansion of the abdominal portion of the aorta, the largest artery in the body. This expansion can lead to an arterial rupture and cause severe internal bleeding. In occurrences in which the artery ruptures, the survival rate is less than 15 percent. It is estimated that between 5-7 percent of adults of the age of 60 have AAA; using 2000 census data, this means nearly 2.7 million Americans may have this life threatening condition.

AAA is one of the most preventable common causes of death because it is highly treatable and curable in 95 percent of men and women when detected before rupture occurs. Over the years, Medicare has evolved to include a number of preventive screening such as mammography and colorectal screening. However, aortic aneurysm screening is currently not covered by Medicare.

Like other preventive measures, it is believed aneurysm screening will ultimately result in a cost savings to the Medicare program because the cost of routine screening pales in comparison to the cost of rehabilitating victims who may survive a ruptured aneurysm.

House sponsors Shimkus, Green and Lewis — along with Senate sponsors Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) — are working with the Society for Vascular Surgery and the National Aneurysm Alliance (NAA), of which SVU is a member, to urge Congress to support this critical preventive measure.

Check the SVU website (www.svunet.org) and the e-Spectrum online member newsletter for the latest updates on this issue.