Congressional Support Expands for Removing Vents from Bid

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 23, 2019)—U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana plans to lead a Senate sign-on letter asking CMS and HHS to reverse course on the decision to add non-invasive vents (NIVs) to Round 2021 of the competitive bidding program, AAHomecare reports.

The letter was launched Monday by Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and Peter Welch (D-VT). It urges the agencies to reconsider the plans to include NIVs because Congress never specifically asked for ventilators to be competitively bid and because Medicare has never attempted to bid any durable medical equipment that requires such significant servicing.

The full letter can be viewed here.

AAHomecare shared news of the letter with participants in its Washington Legislative Conference, which brought home medical equipment (HME) providers and community members to advocate for that issue and others on Capitol Hill. Along with encouraging members to ask lawmakers to sign on to the letter, participants were also asked to urge legislators to back HR 2771, which makes financial support for rural areas permanent and extends it to non-rural, non-bid areas; and to support legislation designed to protect access to complex rehab wheelchairs.

“This year we have got more actionable items of legislation than in history,” said Steve Ackerman, CEO of Spectrum Medical and chair of the AAHomecare board. Visit the AAHomecare Action Center to send a letter to your senator or representative asking them to sign on.