WASHINGTON -- July 15, 2008 -- “Today’s House vote to override the President’s veto of the Medicare bill is good news for seniors, who would gain greater access to preventive services for life-threatening diseases such as cancer under the bill.
“The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (H.R.6331) recently passed both houses of Congress with bipartisan support. We urge the Senate to follow the House’s lead by overriding the President’s veto and provide seniors with broader access to life-saving cancer prevention and early detection services.
“This legislation would extend the availability of the ‘Welcome to Medicare’ visit for those new to Medicare from six months to one year and eliminate the deductible for the visit, which provides a valuable opportunity for doctors and their patients to select cancer screening tests that are best for them. The bill would also enable the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve new cancer prevention and early detection screening tests for Medicare coverage without first obtaining Congressional approval as new methods are developed and tested. This will provide beneficiaries with increased access to the full range of available screening tests in a timely fashion.”
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy partner of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit https://www.fightcancer.org/.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Trista Hargrove
Phone: (202) 585-3221
Email: [email protected]
