Furthering Access to Stroke Telemedicine Act (FAST)

H.R. 2799
Sponsor: Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA)
Amends social security to:
1. Expand access to certain stroke telehealth services to any originating site at
which the eligible telehealth individual is located at the time the service is
needed, regardless of where the site is located.
2. Waive the facility fee for certain such originating sites
Through telestroke, a patient having a stroke can gain access to specialists through
the use of interactive videoconferencing, even if the hospital at which the patient is
receiving treatment does not have a stroke neurologist available around the clock.
Telestroke can expand the diagnoses of ischemic strokes and allow patients to more
quickly be treated with Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA), a drug that helps
dissolve blood clots and reverse disability if administered within the first three to
four and a half hours after a stroke. Currently, Medicare only covers telestroke in
the most rural, underserved areas. This legislation, the FAST Act, would expand
coverage nationwide. Additionally, the American Heart Association estimated it
would save approximately $119 million in Medicare spending annually by reducing
the need for rehabilitation and nursing home stays.
Constituent Letter:
I write today to urge you to co-sponsor the Furthering Access to Stroke Tel=
emedicine (FAST) Act of 2015 (s. 1465/H.R. 2799). This important legislati=
on will ensure patients suffering a stroke in remote or underserved areas o=
f the country can receive timely diagnosis and effective treatment.

Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability and the fifth leading c=
ause of death in the United States. Research indicates that fast diagnosis=
and treatment is critical to minimizing post-stroke disability, and the ti=
me it takes to provide treatment can often mean the difference between life=
and death. Thus, we must continue to search for ways to treat stroke pati=
ents more quickly, especially those patients in remote or underserved areas=
of the country.

Luckily, advances in telestroke technology have the potential to significan=
tly speed up the process of diagnosing and treating stroke, especially for =
patients with limited access to specialized neurologists. Telestroke is th=
e use of electronic communication devices, such as videoconferencing and sm=
artphones, to provide diagnosis and treatment recommendations for patients =

having a stroke. Such services can connect patients with stroke specialist=
s across the country to make sure they receive the timely diagnosis and acc=
urate administration of care they need.

Unfortunately, as it stands, Medicare reimburses stroke survivors for teles=
troke services only if they are provided in a rural hospital. The FAST Act=
, recently introduced in both the Senate and the House, would direct Medica=
re to cover telestroke services regardless of location. This would ultimat=
ely make stroke diagnosis and treatment faster nationwide, saving more live=
s and reducing stroke-related disability rates.

I ask that you help expand Americans=E2=80=99 access to telestroke services=
by co-sponsoring the FAST Act of 2015 (S. 1465/H.R. 2799).
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Personally written by Curtis
P.S. If this would have been in place at the time my Wife had her stroke, she would
still be able to Speak, and Eat. My Wife has to be Tube Fed every
3 hours, and She can only communicate by using the sign language alphabet,
and with the use of an iPad. The iPad she is using is a Gen 2, and the screen is
covered in cracks all.;
If you compare the assistance a Cancer Victim gets, verses what a Stroke Victim can
get, youre looking at a 10 to 1 difference. I know this first hand
because my Wife has had both. Please help Stroke Victims.