The American Association for Homecare and the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology are calling on providers to support a 24-hour advocacy push behind a brand new bill to protect complex rehab from bidding expansion.
Yesterday, the industry’s legislation to reform bidding expansion to protect rural providers and remove complex rehab wheelchair accessories from the expansion was not included in this week’s omnibus spending bill.
So, this afternoon, Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), John Casey (D-Pa.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) debuted The Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act. The Senate legislation includes a one-year delay in the application of Medicare competitive bid pricing to complex rehab wheelchair accessories.
The industry’s strategy is to get the bill passed before Congress adjourns, and to accomplish that, the Senate legislation being expedited via the upper chamber’s “hot line” process. Under that fast-tracked process, once a bill is introduced and distributed, each Senator has 24 hours to object to it. If there are no objections within that 24-hour period the Senate considers the bill passed, and the legislation is forwarded to the House for that chamber’s vote.
“To ensure its passage we need you to call your Senators today,” NCART Executive Director Don Clayback wrote in a statement today. “… This is our last opportunity to get the CRT delay implemented this year and we need all CRT stakeholders to take the following action today!”
Providers were encouraged to call their Senators (excluding the seven original sponsors) with the following message:
“I need the Senator to support the Patient Access and Medicare Protection Act, which has just been introduced by Senators Portman, Casey, Burr, Schumer, Blunt, Wyden and Bennet and is being expedited through the ‘hot line’ process. The bill includes a one-year delay in the application of Medicare competitive bid pricing to complex rehab wheelchair accessories and will ensure individuals with significant disabilities continue to receive the specialized technology they depend on.”
Providers can get a contact list of Senators at www.senate.gov/senators/contact.