ATLANTA — In a race against a swiftly ticking clock, HME stakeholders were lobbying on two fronts last week to generate congressional support for some sort of oxygen reimbursement relief.
Reps. Mike Ross, D-Ark., and Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., circulated a sign-on letter among their colleagues calling for reform of the oxygen benefit to be included in the national health care reform package. The Ross-Meek letter also urges elimination of the oxygen cap and the exemption of oxygen from competitive bidding.
Both the American Association for Homecare and the Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America called on providers to encourage lawmakers to sign the letter.
"I encourage all providers to contact your legislators and have your oxygen patients contact them as well and ask them to … sign on to the letter," said Rob Brant, AMEPA president, in a message to members. "This is a budget-neutral plan, which will remove the oxygen cap and reimburse providers based on actual patient usage, not just on the equipment in their home. Therefore, it is a win for both patients and the Medicare program."
As of Friday, nearly 50 legislators had agreed to sign on, said Michael Reinemer, AAHomecare vice president, communications and policy.
The letter will be sent to the key House committees overseeing Medicare issues and health reform, Reinemer said, and will serve as a "placeholder" for an oxygen overhaul bill that Ross and Meek are expected to introduce shortly. AAHomecare had hoped to have the legislation in hand sooner, but drafting the oxygen reform plan has been slowed by an influx of health care proposals to the House Office of Legislative Counsel, which must write all bills into legislative language.
Advocates are hoping to get the bill attached to the health care reform package, which is already on the move. AAHomecare said the deadline for the sign-on — today — is being driven by Ross, "who wants to make sure the oxygen message is delivered before the health reform legislation is finalized."
According to a tentative schedule, a draft of the health reform language in the House could be released this week, then the bill will be referred to three committees: Ways and Means, Education and Labor and Energy and Commerce. Those committees could hold subcommittee hearings as early as next week, followed by full committee hearings the week of July 6 and floor consideration the week of July 27.
House leaders have said they want to have a health care reform bill passed by August.
On a parallel track, supporters continue a push for cosponsors on the Home Oxygen Patient Protection (HOPP) Act.
"Keep contacting your representative to get more support [for H.R. 2373]," urged VGM, the Waterloo, Iowa-based HME services group. That bill, introduced last month by Reps. Tom Price, R-Ga., and Heath Shuler, D-N.C., would repeal Medicare's 36-month oxygen rental cap.
"It is important that we get at least 218 supporters of the bill," VGM said on its Web site, a point echoed by the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers in an email. "This would allow legislation to move past the committees to which the bill was referred and onto the House floor."
As of Friday, the bill had garnered 49 cosponsors.
View the text of H.R. 2373 as a PDF.
View the Ross-Meek letter on AAHomecare's Web site.