Texas Heart Attack Prevention legislation "premature," expert says
February 28, 2011 |Dallas, TX - The quiet passage of 2009's Texas Heart Attack Prevention Bill will have ramifications that will "ring loudly" for public health, predicts a Commentary published in the Archives of Internal Medicine this week [1].
As reported in-depth by heartwire, the bill, known as HB 1290, grew out of a bold, unprecedented proposal from the Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Education (SHAPE, a group with no ties to either of the main cardiology professional societies) and mandates insurance coverage at regular intervals for coronary artery calcium (CAC) scanning and carotid ultrasound in the state of Texas. A new bill modeled on the Texas legislation is also poised for consideration in Florida in the coming weeks.
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Conspicuously absent, he notes, was any kind of expert testimony from the American Heart Association or American College of Cardiology. As previously reported by heartwire, both societies stayed mum on SHAPE, drawing criticism for their silence, although the ACC told heartwire that their Texas ACC chapter "officially supported this piece of legislation and [was] glad to see that it has passed."
For many prominent cardiologists who were involved in SHAPE—most of whom don't hail from Texas—the bill's passing in some ways validates the work of their organization. Several SHAPE members have told heartwire that they believe their aggressive support for population-based screening fills a void that the professional societies have been too slow to move into.
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...that the State of Florida is poised to consider Senate Bill 360, inspired by the Texas bill, which would require insurance reimbursement for up to $200 for CAC and CIMT screening. The bill, sponsored by Florida State Senator Mike Fasano, has been submitted and assigned to committee; the Florida legislature begins its sessions tomorrow.
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Asked what he thought about a screening bill now being considered in Florida, Khera said, "In some ways, I can understand why: this is the number-one cause of death, and I certainly appreciate that legislators want to do something, because people are dying from heart disease."
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