Members of Congress Urge CMS to Withdraw DXA Cuts

Thank you to all of our loyal ISCD members who responded to our calls to action.  During September and October 2006, we sent e-mails to ISCD members who live in key Congressional districts.  We targeted members of Congress who sit on the committees that make Medicare decisions and asked these members to urge CMS Administrator Mark McClellan to withdraw the proposed cuts to DXA and VFA.

Since then, members of Congress who want to support osteoporosis screening have begun circulating “Dear Colleague” letters in the House and Senate. Members of Congress use these letters to call attention to important issues, and to show broad Congressional concern on significant matters.  A letter signed by groups of Congressmen has a greater impact than individual letters might.  In our case, several members drafted letters to CMS to circulate among their colleagues. Your letters to CMS and Congress were instrumental in getting members of Congress to take a position on the Medicare reimbursement issue.  Click here to read excerpts from the most persuasive letters.

The Mikulski Letter

In late July, Senator Barbara Mikulski, (D-Maryland) was the first Senator to launch a rallying cry among other Senate members.  Recognizing the blow to women’s health these cuts would have, Senator Mikulski drafted a letter to CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, calling on him to reverse the CMS cuts to three critical women’s preventive services: osteoporosis screening, sterotactic breast biopsies, and Computer Aided Detection (CAD), an adjunct to mammography. Reimbursements for all of these procedures were slashed in the new Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.  Sen. Mikulski then circulated her letter to all other women senators to establish bi-partisan support for these important issues. Women senators had until September 29th, the day Congress adjourned for the mid-term elections, to sign on to this “Dear Colleague” letter.  Eleven of 14 women Senators have signed on. Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, and Lisa A. Murkowski of Alaska declined to sign on to the Mikulski letter. They still need to hear from ISCD members about this issue.  While it’s too late to have them sign on to the Mikulski letter, it is not too late to ask them to contact CMS directly.   

OTHER CONGRESSIONAL INITIATIVES

Senate Finance Committee:  Senator Jeff Bingaman drafted a "Dear Colleague” letter, similar to the Mikulski letter, for members of the Senate Finance Committee to sign, urging Dr. McClellan to withdraw the devastating cuts to critical women’s health procedures.  The Finance Committee oversees Medicare.   To date, four members of the Finance Committee have signed on, while sixteen have not. Committee members who signed on are Sen. Bingaman, Senator John Kerry, Senator Blanche Lincoln and Senator Wyden.  Those who could, but have not yet signed, are Senators Max Baucus, (D-MT). Jim Bunning (R-KY), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Bill Frist (R-TN), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), James Jeffords (I-VT), John Kyl (R-AZ), Trent Lott (R-MS) John Rockefeller (D-WV), Rick Santorum (R-PA), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Craig Thomas (R-WY) .  If your Senator has not signed on, please contact their office and ask him to add their voice of support on the Bingaman letter to CMS Administrator Mark McClellan.  

Full Senate: Senator Edward Kennedy has also drafted a "Dear Colleague" letter for Senators who are neither women, nor Finance members who want to tell Dr. McClellan to withdraw these cuts to reimbursement.  So far, only Senators Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Tim Johnson of South Dakota have signed on.   

Full House of Representatives:  Representative Nita Lowey of New York launched a  “Dear Colleague” letter for all members of the House of Representatives. The thirty-eight Representatives listed below have signed on.  Also, Representatives Anna Eshoo and Jim Ramstad, as co-chairs of the Med Tech caucus, sent a letter directly to Dr. McClellan. Representative Sue Myrick of North Carolina also submitted a letter to Dr. McClellan urging withdrawal of the cuts.  If your Representative has not signed one of these letters, contact their office and ask them to support reinstatement of reimbursement for DXA and VFA. 

List of Representatives who have signed a letter to CMS to withdraw DXA cuts:

List of Senators who have signed a letter to CMS to withdraw DXA cuts

Find your Representative and your Senators (click here)
If your Senator or Representative has signed on to one of these letters, consider taking a moment to send a quick e-mail thanking them for their support.  Many times members of Congress only hear from people with complaints; it’s nice to be recognized for doing the right thing, and it will help you establish a relationship with your Congressperson.

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Page Last Updated: 12/11/2010

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