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Monday, June 15, 2009

Contact Senate and House to Reform Oxygen and Prevent Cuts

 
 Washington Alert, June 15, 2009
American Association for Homecare
 
 ALERT: Senate Finance Committee Targets Oxygen for Cuts - Contact Senators Today
 
Urge House of Representatives to Enact Patient-Focused Oxygen Reform and Not Cut Oxygen
 
Ask Senators to Refrain from Cuts and Reform Home Oxygen Policy
Cuts to home oxygen therapy are under serious consideration in the Senate Finance Committee as a way to pay for healthcare reform.  The Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over Medicare policy and will have enormous influence over healthcare reform.
 
Please contact your Senators and ask them to:
 
  • Refrain from cutting home oxygen.  In 2009 alone, home oxygen providers have absorbed a 27 percent cut, which is the combined result of the 36-month payment cap from the Deficit Reduction Act and the 9.5 cut required by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008. The home oxygen benefit has already been cut to the bone.  Additional cuts to oxygen will harm access to care for the millions of Americans who require medical oxygen therapy at home.
  • Reform the Medicare home oxygen benefit to improve the quality of care and provide appropriate reimbursement during the entire period of the patient's medical need.  Budget-neutral oxygen reform legislation will ensure consistent and comprehensive services for Medicare beneficiaries while eliminating the current reimbursement cap and establishing a bundled payment for the duration of time in which home oxygen therapy is provided.
Contact with Senators is especially important for HME stakeholders whose legislators serve on the Senate Finance Committee.  See the list of Senate Finance Committee members below.
 
 Senate Finance Committee: Democratic Members
 
 Senate Finance Committee: Republican Members
 
 
Ask House Members to Sign On to Oxygen Reform Letter
So far, at least 50 Representatives in the House have agreed to sign on to the oxygen reform letter penned by Reps. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.). (See the full list below to check for your member of Congress.)
 
Please urge your member of Congress to sign on to this letter today, which is the deadline. You can send them the Ross letter, which is on the front page of the AAHomecare website, www.aahomecare.org.  The letter explains what Congress needs to know:  the oxygen reform plan better protects oxygen patients, offers cost transparency, is budget-neutral, and includes provisions to reduce Medicare fraud.  
 
HME providers should remember that the oxygen reform proposal:
 
  • Achieves the goal of the HOPP Act, which is repeal of the 36-month cap so oxygen can be provided as long as medical need continues.
  • Is budget-neutral, which means that total Medicare dollars for oxygen therapy remain constant. (The HOPP Act would likely require oxygen providers to take a cut in reimbursement in order to pay for repeal of the cap.)
  • Pulls oxygen therapy out of competitive bidding (which the AAHomecare is trying to end for all HME categories).
  • Requires in the law a recognition of the essential services are part of home oxygen therapy, which will end the exclusive focus on equipment costs at the OIG and the myth of equating Medicare home oxygen therapy costs to the cost of an Internet purchase of oxygen equipment.
  • In terms of oxygen reform plans, this plan has been in the works for a long time and has broad buy-in. It is the only reform plan that has a realistic chance of prevailing.
The Ross-Meek letter also urges the House leadership to prevent any further reimbursement cuts to the home oxygen benefit in Medicare. Those threats to oxygen are explicit and are currently on the table in Congress.  
 
That deadline is driven by Congressman Ross, who wants to make sure that the oxygen message is delivered before the health reform legislation is finalized. This process is moving very quickly.  
 
A bill to reform oxygen is being drafted and Rep. Ross is expected to introduce that bill in the near future. However the Ross-Meek letter serves as a critical place-holder on this issue.
 
For further information about the reform plan or getting your message to Congress, please contact Stacey Harms in AAHomecare's government relations department at staceyh@aahomecare.org.
 
 A partial list of House members who have agreed to sign the Ross-Meek letter is below:
 
Arkansas        
Rep. Marion Berry (D)
Rep. Mike Ross (D)
 
Colorado        
Rep. John Salazar (D)
 
Florida          
Rep. Allen Boyd (D)   
Rep. Kathy Castor (D)  
Rep. Ron Klein (D)
Rep. Kendrick Meek (D)
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D)
Rep. Robert Wexler (D)
 
Georgia          
Rep. Sanford Bishop (D)
 
Indiana      
Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D)
Rep. Peter Visclosky (D)
 
Maine            
Rep. Michael Michaud (D)
 
Maryland        
Rep. Donna Edwards (D)
 
Michigan        
Rep. Candice Miller (R)
 
Minnesota    
Rep. James Oberstar (D)
Rep. Collin Peterson (D)
 
New Jersey       
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D)
Rep. Donald Payne (D)
 
New York 
Rep. Gary Ackerman (D)
Rep. Michael Arcuri (D)
Rep. Nita Lowey (D)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D)
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D)
Rep. Gregory Meeks (D)
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D)
 
North Carolina           
Rep. Brad Miller (D)
 
Ohio              
Rep. John Boccieri (D)
Rep. Steve Driehaus (D)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D)
Rep. Stephen LaTourette (R)
Rep. Tim Ryan (D)
Rep. Jean Schmidt (R)
Rep. Zack Space (D)
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R)
Rep. Charlie Wilson (D)
 
Oklahoma       
Rep. Dan Boren (D)
 
Oregon      
Rep. Kurt Schrader (D)
 
Pennsylvania  
Rep. Jason Altmire (D)
Rep. Chris Carney (D)
Rep. Tim Holden (D)
Rep. Todd Platts (R)
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R)
 
South Carolina          
Rep. Joe Wilson (R)
 
Texas              
Rep. Chet Edwards (D)
Rep. Ralph Hall (R)
 
Washington    
Rep. Jay Inslee (D)
 
West Virginia 
Rep. Nick Rahall (D)
 
Wisconsin       
Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D)                 
Rep. Steve Kagen (D)
 
 
 Calendar Updates
  
AAHomecare Mobility Conference, University of Pittsburgh, June 18
Changes in Medicare policy for power and manual mobility, seating and positioning, and repair services have catapulted providers into a state of confusion and at times, into financial loss. Participate in this presentation to better understand mobility, seating, and service policies and ways to maintain compliance while providing optimum qualifying products to beneficiaries. In the challenging healthcare environment before us, this program is imperative for all providers who continue to provide mobility, positioning, and repair services as well as for clinicians who evaluate and qualify patients for medically necessary durable medical equipment. 
 
Speakers will include Dr. Paul Hughes, medical director for Jurisdiction A, Mark Schmeler, Ph.D., OTR/L, ATP from the Department of Rehabilitation Science & Technology at the University of Pittsburgh, and Georgie Blackburn, vice president of government relations for BLACKBURN'S. The program is jointly sponsored by the American Association for Homecare, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the Department of Rehabilitation and Technology at the University of Pittsburgh. The event is supported by an education grant from Pride Mobility Products.
 
CEUs will be awarded to participants attending in person or by video conference and significant time will be allotted for interactive Q&A after each presentation and at the culmination of the program. Previous audio difficulties have been fixed. The program will take place on June 18 at the University of Pittsburgh. Contact Kim Kianka at kimk@aahomecare.org for more information.
 
American Association for Homecare
2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 725
Arlington, VA 22202 
703-836-6263
 
WE THANK OUR CORPORATE SPONSORS
 
 
American Association for Homecare
2011 Crystal Drive, Suite 725
Arlington, VA 22202
 
For more information, please call AAHomecare at (703) 836-6263. 
 
 www.aahomecare.org

 

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