Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard - Press Release - Los Angeles – Photo: A meeting with the Los Angeles County Medical Association..

(May 28, 2008) Los Angeles - Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard met with Luis Ayala (pictured), Director of Government Affairs for the Los Angeles County Medical Association, to discuss health care issues. The Los Angeles County Medical Association is a professional association representing physicians in all modes of practice and specialties, including solo practitioners, small- and large-group or hospital-based physicians, and students, interns and residents. The congresswoman updated Luis on the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act, which she authored and which was signed into law in April 2008.

The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007 (S 1858/HR 3825) establishes national newborn screening guidelines intended to make comprehensive newborn screening widely available throughout the country. The bill also provides federal funding to educate parents and healthcare professionals about the importance of newborn screening, and improves the systems for follow-up care for infants detected with an illness through the newborn screening tests. In addition, the bill requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure the quality of laboratories involved in newborn screening, and establishes a system for collecting and analyzing data that will help researchers develop better detection, prevention and treatment strategies.

The congresswoman also assured Mr. Ayala that she is committed to efforts to fix the pending Medicare payment cuts scheduled to go into effect July 1. The Medicare payment reductions are the result of an outdated formula that resulted in unintended and deeper-than-anticipated cuts to Medicare reimbursements for a wide-variety of physician services.