CardioVascular Coalition (CVC), an advocacy group focused on improving access to care for peripheral artery disease (PAD), has shared its support for newly introduced legislation that would ramp up Medicare and Medicaid coverage of PAD screening.
The Amputation Reduction and Compassion (ARC) Act (H.R. 8615) was introduced Oct. 16 by Reps. Donald Payne, Jr., Bobby Rush and Ruben Gallego. It has been referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
“By expanding coverage for simple, non-invasive screening tests, we have the power to help thousands of Americans avoid unnecessary amputations every year,” interventional cardiologist Jeffrey Carr, MD, a member of the CVC and co-founder of the Outpatient Endovascular and Interventional Society, said in a prepared statement. “We commend Reps. Payne, Rush and Gallego for introducing his critical legislation, which will go a long way toward saving lives and reducing racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. With these goals in mind, we urge Congress to quickly pass the ARC Act.”
“PAD is treatable, if we catch it early,” Payne said in a separate statement. “Medicare and Medicaid treat our most vulnerable citizens. We need to allow these two critical programs to support medical professionals and patients and not cut critical funding that could cause Americans to lose their limbs.”
More details about the legislation can be read here.
Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.