Get on Board with Meek Bill Now, Leaders Urge

ATLANTA — As more than 7,000 attendees shopped the aisles
at Medtrade
2009 last week, the news the industry had been waiting on for
months came Tuesday afternoon with the introduction of H.R.
3790 to repeal competitive bidding.

Introduced by Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., the budget-neutral
bill calls for a complete repeal of the Medicare DMEPOS bidding program,
which was delayed by Congress after a two-week implementation in
July 2008. CMS has scheduled Oct. 21 (Wednesday) as the target date
for opening the Round 1 rebid; the 60-day bidding window will close
Dec. 21, with pricing to be released in June 2010 followed by
announcement of bid winners in September.

Industry organizations immediately united in an effort to gain
cosponsors for the bill and, as of Friday, another four had been
added to its initial 16, including Reps. Steve Austria, R-Ohio;
Michael Turner, R-Ohio; Bruce Braley, D-Iowa; and Dave Loebsack,
D-Iowa.

Original cosponsors include: Jason Altmire, D-Pa.; John
Boccieri, D-Ohio; Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo.; Sam Farr, D-Calif.; Marcia
Fudge, D-Ohio; Alcee Hastings, D-Fla.; Eddie Bernice Johnson,
D-Texas; Ron Klein, D-Fla.; Dan Maffei, D-N.Y.; John Murtha, D-Pa.;
Tim Ryan, D-Ohio; Heath Shuler, D-N.C.; Glenn Thompson, R-Pa.;
Patrick Tiberi, R-Ohio; Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.; and
Robert Wexler, D-Fla.

Although it is a huge step, the bill is only the first step,
industry leaders emphasized. The goal is to get the bill
incorporated into the House health care reform bill — or
possibly the newest version of the “doc fix” bill (see ‘Doc Fix’ Is Back), a proposal to stop scheduled
Medicare physician fee cuts — and to keep it in the
legislataive package when the House and Senate reconcile their
respective reform bills.

“We need everyone’s help,” stressed Roger Ribas, president of
the Florida Association of Home Care Services. “Whether you are in
Round 1 or 2 or none, competitive bidding will affect you.

“Medicare is looking to drop all reimbursements to first-round
competitive bidding prices immediately, insurance companies will
match Medicare’s rates, Medicaid programs will follow, etc. The
disgusting reality is that those initial bids will, again, not be
based on reality of providing quality service … Our industry will
be destroyed. Winners will be losers along with everyone else;
there can be no winners with a competitive bidding program so
flawed and poorly executed.”

The American Association for Homecare has labeled the
competitive bidding program “a small-business killer that reduces
access to care and will reduce competition in the long-term
…

“Contact your representative to ask him or her to cosponsor this
important bill,” the association urged.

“Keep up the momentum and call your representative today!”
echoed VGM on its Web site. “If enough cosponsors sign on, the
chances of getting the language of the bill included in either the
health care reform bill or the ‘doc fix’ are greater. However,
because Congress is looking to move forward quickly with the two
bills, it is crucial that the DME industry ‘rally the troops’ and
contact their representatives immediately!” the Waterloo, Iowa,
member services group said.

AAHomecare will hold a State Leaders’ Advisory Council call this
afternoon to discuss how to boost support in Congress for H.R.
3790. In the meantime, the association and numerous other industry
groups are encouraging all HME stakeholders to contact
representatives in support of the bill — now.

To contact your representative, call the U.S. Capitol
Switchboard at 202/224-3121. The operator can connect you directly
to your representative’s office by using your ZIP code.

View background and talking points for the Meek bill
from AAHomecare.

View the full text of H.R. 3790.

View more competitive bidding
stories.