Overdrive

December 2016

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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VOICES 4 | Overdrive | December 2016 Overdrive's analysis last month of recent sleep apnea screening/treat- ment recommendations showed that between 25 percent and close to 40 percent of owner-operators would be screened for required testing if such criteria were in place. That was based on a survey with heavy reader participation. Those percentages exclude the 1 in 10 survey respondents who reported cur- rently being treated for the condition. The recommendations were issued by the Medical Review Board, an advisory panel to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. As FMCSA seeks formal advice on its pursuit of an apnea rulemaking, readers urged caution on casting too wide a net for screening. Former corporate jet captain and longtime truck owner-operator Dan Boyce believes FMCSA ought to consider the Federal Aviation Admin- istration's experience before adopting the recommendations that are based largely on body mass index. "The FAA prohibits BMI use [alone] when issuing fl ight medical cards," Boyce noted, referencing a policy reversal within the agency. FAA had sought to do just what the Medical Review Board has recom- mended for truckers — require all pilots with a 40 or higher BMI to be tested for apnea. FAA's website explains: "Key avia- tion industry stakeholders, as well as members of Congress, expressed con- cern about this enhanced screening." That led FAA to adopt guidance that stressed more holistic approaches to apnea screening based on question- naires and other measures. Who were those "key stakehold- ers"? Pilots, says Boyce, who "revolt- ed" against the BMI criteria. Should the 40 BMI cutoff be adopted for truckers, it would be a "double stan- dard," he says. Boyce also agrees with previous commenters in noting the profi teer- ing by medical professionals and equipment manufacturers around sleep apnea. "Hopefully, we can di- vert this federal overreach locomotive to a side track before it arrives at the station!" he says. Other readers focused on costs. "The big question is who should pay the driver and the doctors?" asked Steve Pieri. "Who is going to pay the bill … if I have to take two to three weeks off work and pay thousands of dollars to do so?" Brian Loysen questioned the fairness of "requiring $3,000 in medical expenses when an industry hasn't had a substantial pay raise in over a decade at least. If truck drivers have aff ordable care, thanks to the president, they are paying everything out of pocket." Average out-of-pocket costs asso- ciated with testing were estimated by the American Transportation Re- search Institute at $1,200, well under the deductibles that now are common in Aff ordable Care Act-compliant insurance plans. Overdrive has reported on William Stewart. His doctor told him that if he weren't a truck driver, his apnea case was mild enough to go essen- tially untreated, without a CPAP machine, in favor of a sole focus on weight loss. That case, along with the rigid BMI cutoff recommendation, led reader Yote Anders to a stark con- clusion: "We are a targeted, discrimi- nated-[against] class of people." Speaking out against apnea targeting One concern about increased screening and testing for sleep apnea is that drivers often bear all the costs, which average $1,200, says one trade group.

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