Dear Representative:

As a constituent and vascular technologist/sonographer who provides care to Medicare beneficiaries in your District, I urge you to sign on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1213, the Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently (SAAAVE) Act of 2009 sponsored by Representatives Gene Green (D-TX) and John Shimkus (R-IL). 

The SAAAVE Act of 2009 provides “corrections” to the original SAAAVE Act, which was included in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 and became effective on January 1, 2007.  The law provides a one-time non-invasive, effective and inexpensive (less than $100) abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) screening for at-risk Medicare beneficiaries, including male-ever smokers and men and women with a family history of AAA as part of the Welcome to Medicare Physical Exam. This was endorsed by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and if utilized, could prevent over 15,000 deaths per year from ruptured AAAs based on American Heart Association statistics. 

Because AAA screening is tied to the Welcome to Medicare Physical Exam, which is only available during the first year of Medicare eligibility, many at-risk beneficiaries are not getting screened. Less than 10,000 Medicare beneficiaries were screened in 2007.  Also, many primary care physicians and patients are not aware that this Medicare benefit is available. In addition, this condition may not occur until after 65, particularly in women.

The solution is the SAAAVE Act of 2009, which simply unlinks AAA screening from the Welcome to Medicare Physical Exam and extends the one-time benefit to 65-75 year old at-risk Medicare beneficiaries.  Please support this life-saving benefit by signing on as a co-sponsor of this bipartisan legislation today.