[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 142 (Tuesday, October 4, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 4, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              POSSIBLE ALTERNATE FORMS OF ALLERGY TESTING

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                            HON. JOE BARTON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 4, 1994

  Mr. BARTON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with my 
colleagues some important information that I hope will become part of 
next year's congressional debate on health care reform. I recently 
became aware of an alternative method of diagnosing allergies that may 
both save money and reduce patient discomfort for the 24 million 
Americans who suffer from this condition.
  I am referring to a form of allergy diagnosis known as 
radioallergosorbant, or RAST testing. This procedure screens a simple 
blood sample drawn from a patient and can indicate if that person has 
allergies. RAST testing differs from the more common form of diagnosis 
currently practiced in this country, using skin pricks, scratches and 
injections in the patient's arm and back.
  Allergies are a significant and growing problem, costing Americans a 
billion dollars a year in medical bills, with Medicare and Medicaid 
paying millions in Federal funds, loss of output at work, and countless 
hours of physical irritation. Therefore, how allergy is diagnosed and 
treated in this country should receive consideration during next year's 
health care reform debate.
  Every year thousands of men, women and children are misdiagnosed as 
having allergies. In other words, their symptoms while real and 
uncomfortable, are caused by something other than allergies. The 
resulting needless expenditures on immunotherapy costs the government, 
taxpayers and insurance companies millions of dollars annually. It's 
possible these costs could be significantly reduced by greater use of 
RAST testing as a screening procedure by allergists and other 
physicians that can more accurately identify through a simple blood 
test, whether or not a patient has allergies.
  RAST testing is a cutting-edge medical technology that can save 
patients time and money, as well as ease the level of discomfort 
normally associated with the diagnosis of allergy. If more widely used, 
it could also reduce reimbursement expenditures by the government and 
insurance companies on immunotherapy on patients who have been 
misdiagnosed.
  As we continue to consider health care reform issues in the next 
Congress, it is my hope we can explore what obstacles exist to the 
greater deployment and utilization of RAST testing as a method to 
change and improve the way allergy is diagnosed and treated in this 
country.

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