Wednesday in Washington, June 10, 2009
American Association for Homecare
- Reps. Mike Ross, Kendrick Meek Propose Oxygen Reform, Send Letter to Committees
- Obama Administration Urges Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
- "Your Voice in Washington," AAHomecare Newsletter Now Available on Web
- Calendar Update: June 18 Mobility Seminar
ALERT: Reps. Mike Ross and Kendrick Meek Propose Oxygen Reform, Send Letter to Committees
This week, Congressmen Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.) sent a sign-on letter to their colleagues in the House of Representatives urging them to join a letter requesting that reform of the Medicare home oxygen benefit be included in healthcare reform legislation this year. The sign-on letter, which is addressed to the leaders of the key House committees, also urges no further cuts to oxygen therapy. Congressman Ross has a draft oxygen reform bill that is being drafted and is expected to be introduced shortly.
Among other changes, the oxygen reform proposal discussed in the Ross and Meek letter would:
- Eliminate the 36-month cap on oxygen beginning January 2010,
- Exempt oxygen from the competitive bidding program, and
- Recognize in the law the essential services required in providing home oxygen therapy. The absence of those recognized services has provided rationale for cuts to oxygen.
AAHomecare urges HME stakeholders to ask their Representatives in the House to add their name to this letter. The deadline for House members to sign on to the letter is Friday, June 12 at noon.
The letter will be sent to the chairs and ranking members of the key House committees with jurisdiction over Medicare issues and health reform: Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor. Congressman Ross serves on Energy and Commerce and Congressman Meek serves on the Ways and Means Committee.
The reform proposal follows the outline of changes that have been embraced by a large range of stakeholders in the oxygen community.
For a copy of the letter to share with your Representative, see the top of the homepage at www.aahomecare.org.
Obama Administration Urges Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
This week the Obama administration outlined a plan to keep the federal government within its means which included a return to statutory pay-as-you-go requirements, often referred to as "paygo." Paygo would include automatic cuts in mandatory programs as penalties for violations and means every dollar spent by Congress must have an offset. At a press conference yesterday, President Obama described it this way," Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere." It's not clear whether paygo rules would apply to the healthcare reform effort. But the growing concern among fiscally conservative Democrats and the GOP about federal spending underscores AAHomecare's focus on HME reform legislation that is budget neutral.
During an event on Tuesday, attended by several members of Congress including Congressmen Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), Mike Ross (D-Ark.), and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), President Obama spoke of a return to an era of responsible government spending. His plan included tasking the OMB with maintaining a Paygo ledger to record the average 10-year budgetary effects of all legislation enacted through 2013 affecting mandatory spending.
This week the Obama administration outlined a plan to keep the federal government within its means which included a return to statutory pay-as-you-go requirements, often referred to as "paygo." Paygo would include automatic cuts in mandatory programs as penalties for violations and means every dollar spent by Congress must have an offset. At a press conference yesterday, President Obama described it this way," Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere." It's not clear whether paygo rules would apply to the healthcare reform effort. But the growing concern among fiscally conservative Democrats and the GOP about federal spending underscores AAHomecare's focus on HME reform legislation that is budget neutral.
During an event on Tuesday, attended by several members of Congress including Congressmen Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), Mike Ross (D-Ark.), and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), President Obama spoke of a return to an era of responsible government spending. His plan included tasking the OMB with maintaining a Paygo ledger to record the average 10-year budgetary effects of all legislation enacted through 2013 affecting mandatory spending.
"Your Voice in Washington," AAHomecare Newsletter Now on Web
The American Association for Homecare's "Your Voice in Washington" newsletter is published and available for download via PDF on our website. This 16-page newsletter includes discussions on health care reform and HME policy challenges with articles written by HME insiders and AAHomecare experts.
Table of Contents:
- "Health Reform Starts at Home" by Tyler Wilson
- Letter from the Chairman, by Alan Landauer
- HME Sector Talks Strategy, Testifies, Lobbies Congress
- "Stand Up for Homecare" Campaign Grows
- The Need for Oxygen Reform Is Real
- "Raising the Bar for Mobility," by Georgie Blackburn
- Required: $50,000 Surety Bond
- AAHomecare Volunteers: Leaders at Work
- More to Membership than Meets the Eye...
- American Association for Homecare Welcomes New Members
- AAHomecare and Medtrade Renew Agreement
- "Positive Airway Pressure Policy Changes," by Kelly Riley
- New Resources Available at www.aahomecare.org
- Pandemic Scare Reveals HME Readiness
- Integrity and Reform Action Plan for the HME Sector.
Please visit http://www.aahomecare.org/associations/3208/files/SummerAAHCNewsletter2009.pdf to download the newsletter, or contact Tilly Gambill at tillyg@aahomecare.org and provide your mailing address for a printed version.
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
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Arlington, VA 22202
703-836-6263
www.aahomecare.org
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