IVIG Treatment for Victims of Peripheral Neuropathy

Dear Senators,

Please support and co-sponsor S 701, the Medicare Patient IVIG Access Act,
introduced by Senators, Kerry, Alexander, Wyden, Whitehouse and Brownback.
Also please urge the Senate Committee on Finance to include IVIG
provisions in health care reform. ). I also ask that the language of these
bills be included in any health care reform legislation that moves forward
in the Senate. For Medicare primary immunodeficient patients (PIDD),
passage of this bill can mean the difference between life and death.

In the United States, there are approximately 250,000 people diagnosed
with primary immunodeficiency diseases. Thousands more go undetected.
Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDD) occur in patients born with an
immune system that either is absent or poorly functioning. There are over
150 different types of PIDD, all caused by hereditary or genetic defects.
People with PIDD live their entire lives more susceptible to
infections—enduring recurrent health problems and often developing serious
and debilitating illnesses and even death. Currently, approximately 10,000
Medicare PIDD patients in the US who are antibody deficient receive
intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy every 3-4 weeks to replace the
antibodies that their bodies do not produce naturally.

Medicare beneficiaries with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDD) first
experienced access and reimbursement issues in January 2005 as an
unintended consequence of the Medicare Modernization Act, when payment for
IVIG and other drugs changed.

Government-sponsored studies have demonstrated the difficulty Medicare
patients have in locating providers willing to provide IVIG infusions. In
April 2007, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office
of the Inspector General (OIG) reported that Medicare reimbursement for
IVIG was inadequate to cover the cost many providers must pay for the
product. In fact, the OIG found that 44 percent of hospitals and 41
percent of physicians were unable to purchase IVIG at the Medicare
reimbursement rate during the 3rd quarter of 2006. The previous quarter
had been even worse -- 77.2% of hospitals and 96.5% of physicians were
unable to purchase IVIG at the Medicare reimbursement rate.

The Medicare Patient IVIG Access Act, assists all Medicare patients in
need of IVIG therapy by providing the Secretary of Health and Human
Services authority to review data related to the cost of furnishing IVIG
and provides, if appropriate, an additional payment for up to 2 years. The
bill makes Medicare IVIG reimbursement more transparent and improves
accountability based on data. In addition, the bill asks the Medicare
Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to review payment of IVIG and make
recommendations to Congress to improve access to IVIG for Medicare
beneficiaries.

Last Congress, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
reported that "home infusion services generally do not accept new primary
immune deficiency patients with only Medicare coverage
because healthcare
providers are not reimbursed for the infusion service." S. 701 also makes
"whole" the current law Part B home infusion benefit specific to Medicare
beneficiaries with a PIDD diagnosis. Specifically, the bill allows
coverage for items and services related to the administration of IVIG in
the home.

I hope you agree to cosponsor the S. 701 Medicare Patient IVIG Access Act
and urge the Senate Finance and HELP Committees to include the provisions
of S. 701 in health care reform legislation this year.

Sincerely,

Dennis Magnusen
Kathy Ostman-Magnusen

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Peripheral Neuropathy HELP and SUPPORT:

http://www.neuropathy.org

The Neuropathy Association is the leading national non-profit organization serving the peripheral neuropathy community. We provide support and education, advocate for patients’ interests, and promote research into the causes of and cures for neuropathy.

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