One study found that between 2014 and 2015 fracture rates in women aged 65–69 rose by 2.5% and in women aged 70–74, they rose 3.8%.
“Osteoporosis is underdiagnosed in the Medicare population, and the current rate of reimbursement doesn’t make it feasible for many physicians in private practice to purchase new DXA devices,” Dr. Saag says. “As society ages, it’s [crucial] to have access to inexpensive bone density testing so we can prescribe treatments and in many cases, lower [our patients’] risk of sustaining a fracture by 50% or more.”
Make Your Voice Heard
The Senate Committee has recently taken up fall prevention as a focus and the committee chair, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), is the lead for the Senate bill, S. 283. Thus, Dr. Saag encourages ACR members and patients to send a message to their senators and representatives, urging them to protect access to DXA. The ACR has made it easy to do this: A pre-composed e-mail can be found at https://www.votervoice.net/mobile/ACR/Campaigns/63028/Respond.
Linda Childers is a California-based journalist who contributes health articles to a number of national media outlets. Her stories have appeared in The California Health Report, Arthritis Today, Neurology Now, Nurse.com, Minority Nurse, Lifescript.com and many other publications. An award-winning writer, Ms. Childers lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, son and rescue dog.
