Rosslyn, VA– The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) today commended patient and physician leaders for visiting Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to support the Newer Opportunities for Value that Extend Lives (NOVEL) Act of 2019 (S.2326) to provide expedited coding and establish provisional coverage for novel medical products after FDA approval.
Focused ultrasound is often a cost-effective alternative to surgery, radiation therapy, or drug-based treatments, but for many patients, access to this technology is prohibitively expensive. Although this innovation has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Medicare reimbursement for this and many other breakthrough medical technologies will often languish and remain inaccessible to many patients who cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket.
"This promising technology uses focused beams of ultrasound to precisely and accurately target diseased areas in the body without damaging surrounding tissue," shared Dr. Mark Carol, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of SonaCare Medical. "But the current reimbursement system denies too many American patients access to innovative therapies that show promise for improving lives and care outcomes. That's why we're here to advocate for passage of the NOVEL Act to address this critical problem."
Representing a broad cross-section of Americans, patient and provider advocates traveled to D.C. from Alabama, Arizona, Massachusetts, Montana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia to share their perspectives and impress upon lawmakers the need to address shortfalls in the current process.
The NOVEL Act, introduced by Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Tom Carper (D-DE), would provide an expedited coding system and establish provisional coverage for novel medical products following FDA approval. This policy change would help ensure Medicare patients have greater access to breakthrough technologies.
"The advocates here today have seen and experienced first-hand the tremendous value of focused ultrasound and we applaud them for taking this important and pressing message to Capitol Hill so others can also access and benefit from new and innovative technologies," concluded Carol.
About MITA
The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), a division of NEMA, is the collective voice of medical imaging equipment manufacturers, innovators, and product developers. It represents companies whose sales comprise more than 90 percent of the global market for advanced medical imaging technology.
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