Accessories language included in larger bill in House

UPDATE: The Ways and Means Committee has passed H.R. 3429, "HEARTS and Rural Relief Act," with a voice vote after a "mark up" session today.

WASHINGTON - The Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives will hold a “mark up” session tomorrow for a bill that includes language from H.R. 2293, according to an NCART bulletin.

H.R. 2293, introduced earlier this year by Reps. John Larson, D-Conn., and Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., would suspend competitive bidding pricing for accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs for 18 months. This bill would do that for 12 months.

“The inclusion of our CRT language in a larger bill is excellent news and the fact that the bill is going through the committee 'mark up' process places the bill in a much stronger position for a full House vote,” said Don Clayback, executive director of NCART in a bulletin to members.

The “HEARTS and Rural Relief Act,” a bi-partisan bill led by Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Devin Nunes, R-Calif., mostly concerns providing health care for veterans.

NCART urges stakeholders to contact members of the Ways and Means Committee to ask them to approve the bill at the “mark up” session.

Adding pressure on lawmakers: the ITEM Coalition has sent three letters to Congress to support H.R. 2293, S. 1223 (a bill that would exempt complex rehab manual and power wheelchairs and any accessory, cushion or back from competitive bidding pricing) and H.R. 2408 (a bill that would create a separate benefit for complex rehab).