Hobson-Tanner Bill Tops 100 Co-Sponsors

Washington

The Hobson-Tanner Bill has passed the 100 co-sponsor mark in the House of Representatives, enough to capture Congress’ attention and introduce a companion bill in the Senate, observers say.

The bill, officially known as H.R. 3559, was introduced by Reps. David Hobson, R-Ohio, and John Tanner, D-Tenn., last summer in an effort to soften the blow of DME competitive bidding. The congressmen said the bill aims to ensure beneficiaries’ access to DME and protect small providers.

The bill would, among other things, require CMS to implement supplier quality standards at the same time as competitive bidding, exempt rural areas with 500,000 or fewer people from the bidding program and require CMS to show the “reasonable likelihood” of significant savings for a product before selecting it for competitive bidding.

As of press time, 113 co-sponsors had signed on to the bill. But Washington insiders say topping the 100 co-sponsor mark and introducing a companion bill in the Senate is only half the battle — at least 200 supporters in the House will be needed to get the proposed legislation passed.

The text of H.R. 3559 is available at http://thomas.loc.gov. For a list of current co-sponsors, visit www.aahomecare.org.