March 10, 2008 – The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA), a division of NEMA, today praised the 88 Members of Congress who urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider its proposed national coverage decision (NCD) that will limit patient access to cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA).
Representatives Baldwin, Buyer, Camp, Cramer, Green (Gene), McCarthy (Carolyn), Myrick, Pitts, Walsh, Whitfield, Wilson (Heather) and Senators Shelby and Voinovich wrote individual letters to CMS.
After weighing-in individually, Reps. McCarthy, Pitts and Green also coordinated a Dear Colleague letter to CMS. This move garnered signatures from 78 Members of Congress, including:
Alexander, Allen, Berman, Bilirakis, Blackburn, Boswell, Boustany, Butterfield, Capps, Capuano, Castle, Conaway, Cubin, Cummings, Delahunt, English, Ferguson, Fossella, Frank, Gerlach, Gilchrest, Gonzalez, Green (Al), Green (Gene), Hall (Ralph), Herger, Higgins, Hodes, Hulshof, Inglis, Inslee, Jefferson, Kagen King (Peter), Kirk, Kuhl, Larsen, LaTourette, LoBiondo, Lowey, Maloney, Marchant, Matheson McCarthy (Carolyn), McCarthy (Kevin), McGovern, McNulty, Meek, Michaud, Moore (Dennis), Murphy (Christopher), Neal, Neugebauer, Olver, Ortiz, Pascrell, Paul, Pickering, Pitts, Porter, Price, (Tom), Rahall, Reyes, Rogers (Mike-MI), Roskam, Ruppersberger, Scott (Bobby), Sessions, Shimkus, Souder, Sutton, Tanner, Tierney, Towns, Tsongas, Walberg, Wamp, and Wilson (Charles).
“CCTA is an extremely important medical imaging tool that detects Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) within seconds, eliminating the need for surgery or catheterization,” said Andrew Whitman, Vice President, MITA. “MITA applauds the Members of Congress who recognize that CCTA has revolutionized the way doctors diagnose heart disease and who are questioning CMS’ proposed decision to eliminate CCTA coverage.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, CAD is the most common type of heart disease—and the number one killer for both men and women. Based on existing evidence and clinical analysis, CCTA has widespread acceptance as a proven technology that rules out heart disease with greater than 99 percent accuracy, while avoiding the high costs of more invasive and expensive procedures. As a result, CCTA is used in more than 2,000 centers nationwide and has been approved by local Medicare carriers in all 50 states.
“CCTA has become the standard of care for cardiac disease throughout the country and the world,” said Whitman. “MITA is proud to work with Members of Congress and others to ensure that patients have coverage for this important test. It is our hope that CMS will permit continued access to this state-of-the-art diagnostic tool for heart disease patients nationwide.”
For more information: www.medicalimaging.org
March 07, 2024 
