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June 2005 | Vol. 23, No. 6 Update of Status of the SAAAVE Act in 109th CongressEarlier this year the Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently (SAAAVE) Act (S.390/H.R. 827) was re-introduced in the 109th Congress to address a serious health risk for elderly Americans, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms. The new bill would direct Medicare to cover abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening, one of our nation's most preventable but often neglected conditions taking approximately 15,000 American lives a year. "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), a House bill co-sponsor 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." 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. Currently 18 Members of the House of Representatives have signed on a sponsor of the SAAAVE Act in the House of Representatives (H.R. 827), and 7 Senators have signed on as a sponsor of the SAAAVE Act in the Senate (S. 390). H.R. 827, introduced in Congress by Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) is now co-sponsored by 18 other Representatives. They are:
S. 390, which was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), is now co-sponsored by 7 senators. They are:
Grassroots letters are an important part of getting Congressional members to sign onto this important legislation. SVU members are urged to send a letter by fax to their two U.S. Senators and sole U.S. Representative to ask for their support of the SAAAVE Act. Sample Congressional letters are posted on the SVU website (www.svunet.org) under Advocacy News. You can get your Representative’s or Senator’s office fax numbers by calling the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and asking to be connected to your Representative’s or Senator’s office, and then tell them you are a constituent and would like the office fax number to fax a letter to the Representative or Senator about being a co-sponsor of the SAAAVE Act. If you send a fax to your Members of Congress, SVU would appreciate receiving a copy of your correspondence. Please send it to SVU Executive Director Steve Haracznak by email at steveh@svunet.org, by fax at 301-459-5651, or by land mail to the SVU national office in Lanham. MD. Thanks for your support of the SAAAVE Act. Remember to check the SVU website and the monthly e-Spectrum online newsletter for the latest updates on the status of the SAAAVE Act. |
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