May 24, 2016

Including ASBMR member Dr. Christopher Shuhart, Medical Director of Bone Health & Osteoporosis at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, seventeen doctor and patient advocates representing 15 states attended meetings on Capitol Hill for the Fracture Prevention Coalition Fly-In. The groups above attended 78 Hill meetings including 17 with the Senators or their health staff, 48 with Representatives or their health staff, and 3 larger advocate meetings with the Majority and Minority of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. The message was clear: Medicare cuts are dismantling the osteoporosis prevention model by making DXA unavailable to current and future osteoporosis patients. The advocates asked for support on a House Bill (HR2461) to improve access to and utilization of bone mass measurement benefits. Dr. Shuhart and others received considerable positive feedback on this important issue, and will continue the conversation until access to DXA is improved to diagnose patients with osteoporosis and save lives.

Image from left to right: Towner French, Dr. Peter Steven, Dr. Chris Shuhart, Donna Fiorentino, Dr. Vishnu Sundaresh