[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 132 (Wednesday, October 9, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10224-S10225]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself and Mr. Bingaman):
  S. 3086. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide coverage under the Medicare program for diabetes laboratory 
diagnostic tests and other services to screen for diabetes; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Access to 
Diabetes Screening Services Act of 2002. My colleague Senator Bingaman 
joins me in introducing this important legislation. This bill will 
provide Medicare coverage for laboratory diagnostic tests and other 
services which are used to screen for diabetes.
  Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions among adults in the United 
States. Trend data indicate that by the year 2010 more than 10 percent 
of all Americans will have diabetes. Even today our Nation is feeling 
the effects of this disease, diabetes is the Nation's sixth leading 
cause of death.
  My own home State of Arkansas has had first-hand experience with the 
rising diabetes rates. Arkansas ranks fifth in the Nation for diabetes 
incidence. According to recent health statistics, diabetes is the 
seventh leading cause of death for Arkansans. Recent studies show that 
6.5 percent of all Arkansas adults have diagnosed diabetes, and over 1 
million Arkansans are at risk for undiagnosed diabetes.
  These rising rates are especially evident among our aging population. 
Currently almost 7 million Americans age 65 and older, or 20 percent of 
seniors, have diabetes. Roughly 20 percent of seniors age 65 and older 
have a newly identified condition called pre-diabetes. If left 
untreated, pre-diabetes will develop into diabetes. An additional 
40,000 people living with diabetes and end-stage renal disease under 
the age of 65 participate in the Medicare program.
  Even more distressing is the fact that approximately one third of the 
7 million seniors with diabetes, or 2.3 million people, are 
undiagnosed. They simply do not know that they have this very serious 
condition--a condition whose complications include heart disease, 
stroke, vision loss and blindness, amputations, and kidney disease.
  Those in the medical community and the federal government are only 
too aware of the rising prevalence and serious nature of diabetes. The 
Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, and the 
Department of Health and Human Services have recently joined together 
in a national education campaign to inform people about diabetes and 
encourage people age 45 and older to get screened for diabetes.
  Unfortunately, current law does not allow Medicare to reimburse for 
diabetes testing, even if a patient presents a physician with serious 
risk factors for diabetes such as obesity, high blood pressure, or high 
cholesterol. Most shockingly, even if a patient is experiencing early 
evidence of diabetes complications like blindness and kidney disease, 
Medicare still cannot reimburse for diabetes testing.
  This nonsensical omission of diabetes screening coverage is even more 
shocking in light of the fact that about 25 percent of the Medicare 
budget currently is devoted to providing medical care to seniors living 
with diabetes. In 1999, Arkansas spent $1.6 billion on direct and 
indirect costs of diabetes. Why would we continue to constantly react 
to the disease in this manner, instead of proactively providing 
screening for our Medicare beneficiaries? This screening can identify 
the disease, even before any symptoms have appeared, and has the 
potential to save and improve thousands of lives.
  The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists strongly 
believes that patients with diabetes should be identified as early as 
possible in their illness. We have the technology to do this through 
screening.

[[Page S10225]]

  I cannot overstate the need for this legislation. When faced with the 
rising prevalence of diabetes, the high percentage of seniors who 
already have the disease, the alarmingly high number of seniors who 
have diabetes but do not know it yet, and the high cost associated with 
its treatment, it is obvious that Medicare should provide coverage for 
diabetes screening.
  The American Diabetes Association has identified Medicare screening 
coverage as their top legislative priority, and I have worked closely 
with them to craft this legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to 
give serious consideration to the Diabetes Screening Act of 2002.

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