text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Medicare Fracture Prevention and 
  Osteoporosis Testing Act of 2007''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress finds the following:
              (1) Since 1997, Congress has recognized the importance of 
          osteoporosis prevention by standardizing reimbursement under 
          the Medicare program for bone mass measurement.
              (2) One decade later, osteoporosis remains underdiagnosed 
          and untreated despite numerous Federal initiatives, including 
          recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task 
          Force, the 2004 United States Surgeon General's Report on Bone 
          Health and Osteoporosis, and inclusion of bone mass measurement 
          in the Welcome to Medicare exam.
              (3) Even though osteoporosis is a highly manageable 
          disease, many patients lack access to early diagnosis that can 
          prevent debilitating fractures, morbidity, and loss of 
          mobility.
              (4) Although Caucasians are most likely to sustain 
          osteoporosis fractures, the cost of fractures among the 
          nonwhite population is projected to increase by as much as 180 
          percent over the next 20 years.
              (5) Black women are more likely than White women to die 
          following a hip fracture.
              (6) Osteoporosis is a critical women's health issue. Women 
          account for 71 percent of fractures and 75 percent of 
          osteoporosis-associated costs.
              (7) The World Health Organization, the Centers for Medicare 
          & Medicaid Services, and other medical experts concur that the 
          most widely accepted method of measuring bone mass to predict 
          fracture risk is dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (in this Act 
          referred to as ``DXA''). Vertebral fracture assessment (in this 
          Act referred to as ``VFA'') is another test used to identify 
          patients at high risk for future fracture.
              (8) Unlike other imaging procedures, bone mass measurement 
          testing remains severely underutilized with less than 20 
          percent of eligible Medicare beneficiaries taking advantage of 
          the benefit.
              (9) Underutilization of bone mass measurement will strain 
          the Medicare budget because--
                      (A) 55 percent of the people age 50 and older in 
                  2002 had osteoporosis or low bone mass;
                      (B) more than 61,000,000 people in the United 
                  States are projected to have osteoporosis or low bone 
                  mass in 2020, as compared to 43,000,000 in 2002;
                      (C) osteoporosis fractures are projected to 
                  increase by almost 50 percent over the next 2 decades 
                  with at least 3,000,000 fractures expected to occur 
                  annually by 2025;
                      (D) the population aged 65 and older represents 89 
                  percent of fracture costs; and
                      (E) the economic burden of osteoporosis fractures 
                  are projected to increase by 50 percent over the next 2 
                  decades, reaching $25,300,000,000 in 2025.
              (10) Underutilization of bone mass measurement will also 
          strain the Medicaid budget, which funds treatment for 
          osteoporosis in low-income Americans.
              (11) Reimbursement under the Medicare program for DXA 
          provided in physician offices and other non-hospital settings 
          was reduced by 40 percent and will be reduced by a total of 75 
          percent by 2010. This drop represents one of the largest 
          reimbursement reductions in the history of the Medicare 
          program. Reimbursement for VFA will also be reduced by 50 
          percent by 2010.
              (12) The reduction in reimbursement discourages physicians 
          from continuing to provide access to DXA or VFA in their 
          offices. Since two-thirds of all DXA scans are performed in 
          nonfacility settings, such as physician offices, patient access 
          to bone mass measurement will be severely compromised when 
          physicians discontinue providing those tests in their offices, 
          thereby exacerbating the current underutilization of the 
          benefit.
  
  SEC. 3. MINIMUM PAYMENT FOR BONE MASS MEASUREMENT.
  
      (a) In General.--Section 1848(b) of the Social Security Act (42 
  U.S.C. 1395w-4(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
              ``(5) Treatment of bone mass scans.--Notwithstanding the 
          provisions of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish a 
          national minimum payment amount for CPT code 77080 (relating to 
          dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) and CPT code 77082 (relating 
          to vertebral fracture assessment), and any successor to such 
          codes as identified by the Secretary. Such minimum payment 
          amount shall not be less than 100 percent of the reimbursement 
          rates in effect for such codes (or predecessor codes) on 
          December 31, 2006.''.
      (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
  apply to bone mass measurement furnished on or after January 1, 2008.
  
  SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT BY THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE.
  
      (a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall 
  enter into an arrangement with the Institute of Medicine of the 
  National Academies to conduct a study on the following:
              (1) The ramifications of Medicare reimbursement reductions 
          for DXA and VFA on beneficiary access to bone mass measurement 
          benefits in general and in rural and minority communities 
          specifically.
              (2) Methods to increase use of bone mass measurement by 
          Medicare beneficiaries.
      (b) Report.--The agreement entered into under subsection (a) shall 
  provide for the Institute of Medicine to submit to the Secretary and 
  the Congress, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
  this Act, a report containing a description of the results of the study 
  conducted under such subsection and the conclusions and recommendations 
  of the Institute of Medicine regarding each of the issues described in 
  paragraphs (1) and (2) of such subsection.
target: Medicare Fracture Prevention and Osteoporosis Testing Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a national minimum payment amount for CPT code 77080 (relating to dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, or DXA, the most widely accepted method of measuring bone mass to predict fracture risk) and CPT code 77082 (relating to vertebral fracture assessment, or VFA), and any successor to such codes as identified by the Secretary (bone mass scans).
  
  Directs the Secretary to arrange with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to conduct a study for a report to the Secretary and Congress on: (1) the ramifications of Medicare reimbursement reductions for DXA and VFA on beneficiary access to bone mass measurement benefits; and (2) the methods to increase use of bone mass measurement by Medicare beneficiaries.
feat_title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to improve access to, and increase utilization of, bone mass measurement benefits under the Medicare part B Program.