The association sponsored a letter-writing campaign to the
Secretary asking that sleep apnea not be overlooked in the development of ACA.
Sadly, the word “sleep” does not appear once in the 2000 pages document that
became the law. Sleep an activity that takes up 1/3 of our lives. Subsequently,
letters were written asking that sleep apnea be covered under the exchanges. I
am here to reiterate that request to the Secretary.
Prior to 1981 the only treatment options available for OSA
was a tracheostomy or radical weight loss. It was also thought that the
condition affected only middle-aged overweight men.
Epidemiological data collected in 1993 and published in the
New England Journal of Medicine provided proof that the condition has a much
higher prevalence among adults than originally thought.
The discovery of positive airway pressure therapy in 1981 as
an alternative treatment has made it possible to offer an alternative to the
surgical options available at the time.
There is an increasing number of studies associating
untreated sleep apnea and the sleep deprivation caused by the chronic
intermittent hypoxia can and does exacerbates serious life-threatening and
medically cost conditions like heart disease, diabetes and depression.
Inclusion of diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea could in
some cases forestall the development or worsening of some of these more serious
conditions thereby reducing healthcare utilization.
Cost effective diagnostic and treatment options exist today
and others are likely to be developed that will offset the cost of providing
these services to those who are currently uninsured.
By addressing this condition, especially if screening is
made part of nay health risk assessment would likely result in a net savings to
the system.
I thank you for this opportunity to comment and I am available
to the Secretary for further information on how treating this condition crosses
all ten categories specified in section 1302 of the ACA.
