Sponsors (45)
The bill expands federally supported PAD screening, education, quality measures, and demonstration testing to catch disease earlier and reduce amputations—improving care for at‑risk Americans—while increasing short‑term federal/state/Medicare spending, creating implementation and access challenges (especially for smaller/rural providers), and raising the risk of overtesting and administrative burden.
Medicare beneficiaries, Medicaid enrollees, seniors, and people with PAD: Gain routine, no‑cost access to PAD screening and preventive services (Medicare and Medicaid coverage, inclusion in initial preventive exams), increasing early detection and potential reductions in amputations and cardiovascular deaths.
Hospitals and clinicians: Clearer Medicare payment rules and new quality measures align financial incentives toward limb‑preserving care, encouraging evidence‑based PAD treatment and potentially reducing avoidable amputations and long‑term costs.
Clinicians and patients: Expanded clinician‑ and public‑facing education and dissemination of best practices improve clinical decision‑making and early detection, lowering avoidable limb loss and improving management of PAD.
Taxpayers, Medicare beneficiaries, and state Medicaid programs: The bill expands federal, Medicare, and state coverage and programs, increasing short‑term spending (federal authorization plus higher Medicare/Medicaid utilization) and fiscal pressure on budgets.
Patients (Medicare/Medicaid beneficiaries and others screened): Broader screening risks overuse, false positives, and incidental findings that can lead to unnecessary follow‑up tests, procedures, added costs, and potential patient harms.
Rural communities, smaller hospitals, and healthcare workers: Increased screening, new reporting, and program participation may strain primary care and vascular specialty capacity; smaller or rural providers may face barriers to participation, limiting patient access in some areas.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Expands PAD education and outreach, requires Medicare and Medicaid coverage (no cost‑sharing) of PAD screening for defined at‑risk beneficiaries, adds quality measures, and mandates a CMMI prevention model.
Introduced January 9, 2025 by LaMonica McIver · Last progress January 9, 2025
Requires federal public-health and payment actions to reduce avoidable nontraumatic lower‑limb amputations from peripheral artery disease (PAD). It directs HHS to run a PAD education and outreach program, authorizes $6 million per year (FY2026–2030), requires Medicare and Medicaid to cover PAD screening tests without cost‑sharing for defined “at‑risk” beneficiaries (Medicare coverage effective Jan 1, 2026), directs development and adoption of PAD‑related quality measures across Medicare programs, and tasks the Innovation Center to test a voluntary model to prevent major amputations in clinical sites within 18 months of enactment. The bill defines covered PAD screening tests (e.g., ankle‑brachial index, arterial duplex), sets payment and deductible rules for Medicare, prohibits cost‑sharing in Medicaid for at‑risk beneficiaries, requires HHS to set screening frequency standards in consultation with stakeholders, and limits the Secretary’s ability to eliminate or modify the new Medicare screening coverage authority.