Industry Gathers on The Hill for Legislative Fly-In

WASHINGTON–The American Association for Homecare expects
hundreds of providers, patients and manufacturers at its
legislative fly-in and advocacy effort on Capitol Hill today and
Tuesday.

Among its top priorities are bills to repeal the Medicare oxygen
therapy changes passed in the Deficit Reduction Act and a bill to
amend competitive acquisition mandated by the Medicare
Modernization Act. AAHomecare said it is asking Congress to:

• Support H.R. 5513, the Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act of
  2006. The bill repeals the provision of the Deficit Reduction Act
  that forces beneficiaries to own and assume responsibility for
  oxygen equipment.
• Support the Hobson-Tanner bill, H.R. 3559, which amends the
  competitive bidding under MMA to ensure quality standards are in
  place, preserve patient access to home care and protect small
  providers.
• Urge CMS to use the alternative to gap-filling for setting the
  fee schedule for the new power mobility codes.
• Preserve the Medicare home health inflation update to
  strengthen access to care and offset technology, fuel and skilled
  labor costs.

AAHomecare also is spearheading a patient call-in to support the
Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act. The association is urging HME
providers and their patients to call congressional representatives
Tuesday, and has posted talking points about the recent change in
oxygen policy on its Web site at www.aahomecare.org. “A call will help us make a strong
case for preserving sensible oxygen policy in Medicare,” the
association said. You can find your state’s representatives at
www.house.gov,
or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.