
Contributor: Congress Must Act to Stop America’s Amputation Epidemic
The Amputation Reduction and Compassion Act (H.R. 2631) would ensure that Medicare and Medicaid both cover peripheral artery disease screening for at-risk beneficiaries without the cost-sharing requirements that could make some patients balk at seeking care.
As our health care system works to address the many disparities and inequities that Americans of color—particularly Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans—continue to face, there remains too little understanding of our nation’s amputation epidemic. Over the past 2 years, the pandemic has brought attention to the health disparities that continue to affect people from racial and ethnic minority groups. Although some policymakers encourage action through health education, early detection, and control of disease complication, the systematic inequities that result in unnecessary and senseless amputations must be addressed.
Each year, surgeons perform some 200,000 nontraumatic amputations, due primarily to peripheral artery disease (PAD), an all-too-common complication of diabetes, kidney disease, and chronic hypertension. For the 20 million Americans living with PAD, it will become increasingly difficult for oxygen to reach the legs and feet due to plaque building up in a person’s arteries—unless the chronic condition is diagnosed and treated early. Without medical intervention, amputation will become the only option for a high number of individuals, many of whom don’t even find out they have PAD until it’s too late to save their limbs.
PAD-related amputation is a major crisis in communities of color. According to a landmark report by the Dartmouth Institute, Americans who identify as Black are
As you can imagine, amputations have a tremendous impact on patients’ lives. Not only does the loss of a leg or foot mean permanent disability, but it also makes it more difficult for individuals to work, get around, and do what they love. It is no surprise then that amputations can lead to
Considering that
Not only is amputation a racial justice issue, but
With too few patients being screened for PAD until it’s too late, Washington must act to correct the amputation epidemic.
Fortunately, Representative Donald Payne, Jr. (D-New Jersey) is spearheading a bipartisan effort to do just that. If passed, the
Facing such a dire situation, communities of color need national healthcare solutions to ensure better healthcare access and outcomes—especially when it comes to the amputation epidemic. The time to highlight this issue is now. To help advance racial justice in medicine and reduce preventable amputations, it is time for Congress to pass the ARC Act.
Author Information
Foluso Fakorede, MD, is CEO of Cardiovascular Solutions of Central Mississippi. He is a co-chair of the Association of Black Cardiologists’ PAD Task Force and an advocate for persons of color at risk of limb loss.
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