Vascular Care Leaders Applaud Rep.

Ruben Gallego for Co-Sponsoring Bill to

Address Health Inequities in Peripheral Artery Disease

The Amputation Reduction and Compassion (ARC) Act aims to prevent amputations by expanding
Medicare and Medicaid coverage for PAD and establishing a PAD education program.

Washington, DC, October 28, 2020 --(PR.com)-- Today the CardioVascular Coalition (CVC) – a
coalition of physicians, care providers, advocates, and manufacturers working to improve awareness and
prevention of peripheral artery disease (PAD) – thanked Representative Ruben Gallego (AZ-7) for his
leadership and commitment to addressing the inequities and health disparities plaguing our healthcare
system by co-sponsoring The Amputation Reduction and Compassion (ARC) Act (H.R. 8615).

If passed, the ARC Act would expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage to include PAD screening tests,
while also preventing reimbursement for amputation without the prior arterial testing that could
potentially mitigate complications and prevent amputation. In addition to expanding access to PAD
screening tests, the ARC Act would establish a program to help develop, support, and implement
educational initiatives that inform health care professionals and the public about the existence of
peripheral artery disease and the importance of early detection.

Providing adequate healthcare for vulnerable individuals is essential, particularly those most at risk for
PAD. Today, an estimated 21 million Americans have PAD, and an estimated 200,000 of them are at risk
of undergoing a lower limb amputation because of late detection. The vulnerable individuals at risk of
lower limb amputation are disproportionately racial and ethnic minorities. In particular, Black Americans
are up to four times more likely to undergo an amputation than their Caucasian counterparts. Native
Americans are more than twice as likely to be subjected to amputation, and Hispanic Americans are up to
75 percent more likely to have an amputation.

The ARC Act will fill the policy gap that allows these inequities to fester by increasing access to
preventive screening and providing education to improve the early detection rate and prevent thousands
of vulnerable beneficiaries from undergoing unnecessary amputations every year.

“We applaud Congressman Gallego for co-sponsoring this bill to address our nation’s health disparities,
particularly among Native Americans, and developing policy solutions to measurably prevent
amputation,” said Dr. Neil Marwah, SVP Corporate Development of Fresenius Medical Care. “We are
now urging Congress to quickly pass the ARC Act and prevent thousands of Americans from undergoing
needless amputation.”

Rep. Gallego is co-sponsoring the ARC Act alongside lead sponsor Reps. Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ-10) and
co-sponsor Bobby Rush (IL-1).

About the CardioVascular Coalition (CVC)

Our Mission is to advance patient access to care for peripheral artery disease (PAD). Physicians, care

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providers, advocates, and manufacturers who comprise the CVC are dedicated to community-based
solutions designed to improve awareness and prevention of PAD, reduce geographic disparities in access
to care, and secure patient access to high-quality, cost-effective interventional treatment across America.
Learn more at cardiovascularcoalition.org.

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Contact Information:
CardioVascular Coalition
Ellen Almond
703-548-0019
Contact via Email
http://cardiovascularcoalition.org/

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/824248

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