"The new physical exam benefit will be a gateway for doctors to not only recommend patients for screening tests, but also to counsel them about risk factors for cancer -- tobacco use, diet and physical activity."

'Dramatic Shift' Will Aid Cancer Fight

Secretary Thompson also announced a new collaboration on education and outreach with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), along with the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association. The campaign is designed to help maximize attention to Medicare's new preventive benefits and to help seniors use them.

"What we want seniors to know is that they can live healthier lives through these new benefits," said CMS Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D.

"Medicare's new emphasis on prevention and early detection marks a dramatic shift that will help us in the fight against cancer," said American Cancer Society chief executive officer John R. Seffrin, Ph.D. "The new physical exam benefit will be a gateway for doctors to not only recommend patients for screening tests, but also to counsel them about risk factors for cancer -- tobacco use, diet and physical activity."

Smoking Cessation Counseling Covered

Medicare's preventive benefits now include the following screening services:

• Heart disease and diabetes;

• Weak bones and glaucoma; and

• Cancers of the colon, breast, cervix and prostate.

Medicare also recently announced its intention to cover smoking cessation counseling for beneficiaries who have smoking-related diseases.

"Approximately half of all diabetes cases occur in people older than age 55. For seniors with diabetes, early access to quality treatment, health care team education, and patient education are all very critical. The new preventive benefits for people with Medicare will assist seniors greatly in meeting these needs," said American Diabetes Association chief executive officer Lynn B. Nicholas, FACHE.

Billions of Dollars in Savings Possible

Increasing the use of preventive services, Dr. McClellan noted, could save many thousands of lives and billions of dollars in avoidable medical expenses for preventable complications associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, weak bones, high blood pressure, smoking, inactive lifestyles, and other illnesses and unhealthy behaviors.

"Historically, the vast majority of Medicare's spending has gone to treating costly health problems after they occur," said Dr. McClellan. "We are changing that now as we help seniors use preventive care, and that -- along with next year's prescription drug coverage -- will help them avoid many costly and debilitating problems."

For example, Dr. McClellan noted, 56 percent of Americans 50 and older do not get screening tests that can detect colon cancer at an early, treatable stage, despite the fact that Medicare covers such tests. When colon cancer is caught early, survival rates are over 90 percent.

Medicare Advantage Plans More Widely Available

Dr. McClellan also noted that Medicare Advantage plans already have been providing many of the new benefits, and these "coordinated care" plans have the flexibility to cover many additional preventive services, such as wellness programs, beyond what traditional Medicare covers.

Medicare Advantage plans often offer prevention benefits that include wellness programs, health education services, exercise programs and other services that not only alert patients to potential health risks, but also work with them to change harmful lifestyles and encourage healthy behavioral changes.

With the new Medicare law, expanded preventive benefits through Medicare Advantage plans are more widely available to Medicare beneficiaries.