01/20/2020

It's Time to Turn Up the Pressure on Two Major HME Advocacy Priorities

 

The clock is ticking. We’re likely to see one more round of regulations governing CB Round 2021 this summer as well as the release of rates produced from last year’s bids.
 
With those pending mileposts in mind, as well as Presidential and Congressional elections that will make legislative action in the fall more difficult, it’s clear that we need to make the strongest case for rural relief/O2 reform and for keeping NIV out of the bidding program in the first three months of 2020.  We won’t have a better opportunity than right now to make significant progress on these issues.

We need OAMES members joining HME industry stakeholders across the country to gain more support for HR 2771 and HR 4945 to improve our chances at seeing provisions from these bills included in an omnibus legislative package later in the year.  Please join in this work to give us the best possible outcome for positive changes! 

• Today’s “ask” - If your House representative isn’t on these bills, we need you to email their Health Legislative Aide  If that doesn’t result in a legislator signing on within two weeks, it’s time to call again and request an in-district meeting – and to recruit other individuals in your area to also make contact.  We need repeated contact until we get an agreement to co-sponsor – or a “no.”  

• Non-Bid Area Relief & O2 Rural Reimbursement - HR 2771 – Protecting HOME Access Act of 2019
  Current Co-Sponsors (70)
  Ohio co-sponsors: Rep. Bill Johnson and Rep. Mike Turner
  See our updated list of who co-sponsored rural relief legislation in the 115th Congress but are not yet co-sponsoring HR 2771; these should be top co-sponsor targets. 
  Hr 2771 Issue Brief 

• Keeping Non-Invasive Ventilators Out of Bidding Program - HR 4945 – SMART Act of 2019
  Current Co-Sponsors (41)
  Ohio co-sponsors: Rep. Joyce Beatty and Rep. Steve Stivers
  See this updated list of Reps. who joined a sign-on letter asking CMS to reconsider plans to add NIV to the CB program but have not yet co-sponsored for best targets. 
  Hr 4945 Issue Brief

Thank you to OAMES president Nick Kalogeras’s outreach and tenacity, two Members of Congress from the Columbus area signed on to HR 4945 this week.  All of our members can achieve the same result with persistence and education.  While we realize we’re asking a lot, especially for those of you who have devoted time and resources to Congressional advocacy in recent years, we won’t have a better chance than the next three months to secure these policy gains for HME!

If you have any questions or need assistance with contacts or messaging please reach out to Kam Yuricich at OAMES or Gordon Barnes at AAHomecare.