ACR seeks congressional support for Medicare coverage of CT colon cancer screening

Melissa Rohman | | Health Imaging | Economics

Roughly 30 U.S. senators and congressional representatives attended a Capitol Hill briefing on Wednesday, Sept. 12. The event, sponsored by the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, was aimed at attracting more cosponsors for the CT Colonography Screening for Colorectal Cancer Act of 2017—H.R. 1298, according to an ACR press release. 

The bill was introduced by Reps. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, and Danny Davis, D-Illinois, in March 2017 and would mandate Medicare coverage of CTC colon cancer screenings. It currently has 86 cosponsors, according to an ACR press release.  

Congressional members were presented with clinical and public health arguments for Medicare coverage of CT colonography (CTC), also known as virtual colonoscopy.  

At the briefing, members of the ACR Colon Cancer Committee and the Colorectal Cancer Alliance discussed the epidemiology of colorectal cancer, what a virtual colonoscopy entails, insurance policies regarding colorectal screenings, factors that reduce the number of screenings in various populations and staffing related challenges gastroenterologists face with population screening using standard colonoscopy, according to the release. 

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Melissa Rohman

A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.

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