Charlie Dent
An unintended and hidden cost for Medicare beneficiaries who undergo colorectal cancer screenings would be eliminated under bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) on Wednesday.
Medicare currently covers colorectal cancer screenings without a coinsurance charge, but polyps discovered during the screening are billed as “treatment” and can cost patients $100 to $300.
The Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act, H.R. 1017, which Dent introduced with U.S. Reps. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Donald Payne (D-NJ), would eliminate Medicare’s cost-sharing requirement for preventive colonoscopies, even when a polyp is removed.
“I am proud to join with my colleagues in introducing this legislation to correct an unfortunate glitch in current law and help save lives by encouraging more people to get regularly scheduled colon screenings,” Dent said. “Seniors do not know whether they have a polyp before being screened, and as a result, some end up having to make a large co-payment on a service they were told would not cost them anything.”
Colonoscopies are life-saving screening procedures, and Dent said people should be not be deterred from getting them because of high insurance costs. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for men and women, and an estimated 135,000 people are diagnosed with it each year.
“This fight is personal for me and for countless Americans across the country,” Lance, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, said. “Awareness about colorectal cancer is the best protection and well-rounded care during and after treatment is the best therapy.”
Chris Hansen, the president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said the bill would make colorectal cancer screening more accessible, regardless of a person’s ability to pay.
“More seniors getting screened will result in fewer cases of cancer, less treatment-associated costs, and more importantly, fewer needless deaths from a disease that can be easily detected and prevented,” Hansen said.
Dent concluded that when the relatively low cost of preventive polyp removals are compared to the high costs of extensive cancer treatments and hospital stays, “it’s clear this bill provides a commonsense and fiscally responsible way to save lives.”