[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 58 (Thursday, April 10, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S5194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HARKIN (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Graham of 
        South Carolina, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Corzine, Mr. Biden, Mr. 
        Specter, Ms. Landrieu, Mr. Johnson, Mrs. Lincoln, Mr. Hollings, 
        Ms. Mikulski, Mrs. Clinton, and Ms. Collins):
  S. 869. A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to 
provide for enhanced reimbursement under the medicare program for 
screening and diagnostic mammography services, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President. Today I am introducing legislation, the 
Assure Access to Mammography Act of 2003, on behalf of myself and my 
colleagues, Senators Snowe, Inouye, Graham of South Carolina, Murray, 
Corzine, Biden, Specter, Landrieu, Johnson, Lincoln, Hollings, 
Mikulski, Clinton, and Ms. Collins to ensure women have full and timely 
access to preventive breast cancer screenings. As you know, the earlier 
a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, the earlier she can begin to 
receive treatment and the more likely she will survive.
  Unfortunately, due to inadequate reimbursement rates for mammograms, 
women increasingly are having problems getting the mammograms they 
need. Across the nation, there have been reports of women waiting up to 
six months for an appointment for this simple procedure. While 
mammograms often cost up to $150 to administer, Medicare's 
reimbursement rate is currently set at about $82, barely over half the 
actual cost of the procedure. This disparity increasingly makes access 
a real problem, forcing many private centers to shut down and creating 
a shortage of providers willing to provide services significantly below 
cost.
  The Assure Access to Mammography Act would reverse this growing and 
alarming trend by correcting the two primary causes of the problem. 
First, it would increase Medicare reimbursement to radiologists to a 
reasonable level to ensure health care providers are reimbursed fairly 
for mammography services. Second, the bill would increase the number of 
radiologists by increasing the Graduate Medical Education payments to 
provide for three additional radiologists in each teaching hospital. 
Finally, the Assure Access to Mammography Act would provide a MEDPAC 
study on the Medicare reimbursement structure for gender specific 
medical procedures so that Congress and CMS have the tools we need to 
make appropriate health policy decisions.
  This is an issue that hits close to home for me. Both of my sisters 
died of breast cancer, at a time when mammograms were not readily 
available. While imperfect, mammograms are the best-known way to 
diagnose breast cancer at an early stage in order to reduce mortality. 
As our society ages, one million additional women each year are needing 
regular mammograms. The Assure Access to Mammography Act will provide 
the resources our health care system needs to guarantee all women 
access to the mammograms they need to ensure that breast cancer is 
detected early enough to apply appropriate treatments effectively. I 
look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this needed 
bipartisan legislation.
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