A letter authored by 45 members of Congress, led by Rep. Debbie Dingell, has been submitted to Health and Human Services urging federal agencies to expand access to colorectal cancer screenings by ensuring surveillance colonoscopies are covered as preventive services.
The letter is a follow-up to a December letter authored by 90 medical societies and patient advocacy groups, including the American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Surveillance colonoscopies, which are follow-ups to initial colonoscopies that required polyp removal, reduce colorectal cancer risks by 43% to 48%.
Even though surveillance colonoscopy is for asymptomatic patients, commercial insurers classify it as a diagnostic rather than preventive service. This subjects patients who need this screening to additional cost-sharing.
The members of Congress are calling on HHS to reduce financial barriers to preventive surveillance colonoscopy by clarifying that these procedures are preventive services under the ACA.
"In adopting this update, the federal government would eliminate a significant barrier to screening and directly improve access to care," the lawmakers wrote in the Jan. 16 letter. "This is especially true in minority populations where we are seeing a 20% higher incidence rate and 40% greater likelihood to die from colorectal cancer compared to other racial and ethnic groups."
When detected early, the five-year survival rate for colorectal cancer is 90%. However, early detection occurs in less than 40% of cases.