California HME Update

Increase cosponsors on H.R. 3790 by asking the remaining Representatives who have not joined the legislation to sign on, and
Asking the current cosponsors of H.R. 3790 to contact their House leadership to urge that H.R. 3790 move forward without delay.

AAHomecare, VGM, The MED Group, NAIMES, AMEPA, CSIHME and other national groups are working together on this effort. We encourage all providers to make calls, set up appointments with, and e-mail their Representatives next week while legislators are in their home districts. Please use the following talking points in your e-mail messages.

To Representatives NOT currently cosponsoring H.R. 3790:

This competitive bidding program restricts access and choice for medical equipment and supplies .
It will trigger a race to the bottom in terms of quality; i.e. less expensive items will be provided to patients. With an elimination of suppliers, expedient deliveries of items and services will be eliminated and Medicare costs will increase.
The bid program is anti-competitive and reduces the number of competitors. During Round One, 80 to 90 percent of HME suppliers would have been barred from the Medicare program.
At a time when the senior population is growing by more than 7,000 daily, elimination of 90% of the supply side will result in serious access and service disruption issues for patients.
This program will result in the loss of more than 100,000 jobs and the closure of more than 8,000 small businesses. This added to the high cost of implementation is not the right direction in the current economic recovery.
The bidding program will increase Medicare costs by disrupting the continuum and coordination of care between doctors, discharge planners, patients, and HME providers. In turn, it will lead to longer, more expensive hospital stays and more physician office visits, nursing home admissions, and emergency room visits.
We want to assure you that the home medical equipment sector will have an appropriate offset as part of any legislation that may move through Congress. The Congressional Budget Office is working through this issue now. And please remember, the reasons for enacting competitive bidding in 2003 have already been achieved: Congress has made significant cuts to Medicare durable medical equipment reimbursement rates in recent years. Additionally Medicare's new quality standards, new mandatory accreditation, and surety bond requirements ALL took effect last year.

To Representatives Already Signed On To HR 3790:

I appreciate your support of H.R. 3790, the bill to eliminate the competitive bidding program and preserve access to homecare. I urge you now to help us work toward final passage of this bill to stop the short-sighted programby reaching out to House leadership and asking them to take action on H.R. 3790 immediately following the Memorial Day recess. Time is critical. CMS is moving forward quickly with this program and bid rates in initial areas are scheduled to be implemented on January 1, 2011.

We must protect our patient population, and the loss of over 100,000 jobs and more than 8,000 small businesses across the country will reduce the supplier community by 90% at a time when the senior population is growing by more than 7,000 a day.

I want to assure you that the home medical equipment sector will have an appropriate offset as part of any legislation that may move through Congress. The Congressional Budget Office is working through this issue now. And please remember, the reasons for enacting competitive bidding in 2003 have already been achieved. Congress has made significant cuts to Medicare durable medical equipment reimbursement rates in recent years. Additionally Medicare's new quality standards, new mandatory accreditation, and surety bond requirements all took effect last year.

Please urge House leadership to include H.R. 3790 in an appropriate legislative vehicle that is moving on the House floor.

House Leadership Includes:

For Democratic offices, leadership includes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Sander Levin, and Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman.

For Republican offices, leadership includes Minority Leader John Boehner, Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Dave Camp, and Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Joe Barton.

If you need to locate your respresentative then go to the Action Center on CAMPS website at, http://www.campsone.org/ohana/website/?p=38556477, we have added some new tools provided courtesy of AAHomecare.