Skip to Content

H.R. 3559: 'We're hoping for a surge'

H.R. 3559: 'We're hoping for a surge'

WASHINGTON - The HME industry continues to push hard for H.R. 3559, a bill it believes will lessen the blow of national competitive bidding. A state association planned a fly-in to lobby legislators in November, and Pride Mobility's Wayne Grau took grassroots efforts on the road that same month. By mid-November, the industry had managed to get 50 legislators on board with the Hobson-Tanner bill, according to Sara Perkins, press secretary for Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, the bill's sponsor. AAHomecare, state associations and member groups believe 200 are needed for Congress to act on H.R. 3559. "We're hoping for a surge," said Michael Reinemer, director of communications for AAHomecare. The fly-in and Grau's road trip represent another round of efforts to drum up support for the bill. "A lot of things have been happening, and obviously, Congress needed to support [Hurricane Katrina]," said Carol Napierski, executive director of the New York Medical Equipment Providers (NYMEP). "That took precedent. But we're gearing up to re-inform legislators of the importance of this bill, and they've been very receptive." A handful of NYMEP members planned to fly to Washington, D.C., on Nov. 16 to meet with N.Y. representatives. The state association has already signed on five of its reps, but there's a total of 29 on Capitol Hill, Napierski said. Also in November, Pride Mobility's Grau hit the road to tout H.R. 3559. Before he even set out, he had held more than 18 meetings and signed on nine legislators to support the bill, according to a statement from Pride Mobility.

Comments

To comment on this post, please log in to your account or set up an account now.