Infusion folks set example for the rest of us
By Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
Updated Mon September 28, 2009
My editor occasionally groans when she sees I am doing an update on the home infusion industry's efforts to get Medicare coverage for their equipment and services. She supports the legislation, don't get me wrong. But, it's been a long battle and I am sure that she sometimes feels like she's rereading the same story.
But, the HME industry at-large could take a page from the National Home Infusion Association's government playbook. The Medicare Home Infusion Coverage act has stayed consistent and on-message from Day 1. The most recent version is an update of one launched in 2007, during a different Congress.
There's no public bickering, backstabbing or boo-hooing going on among the players. Wow, what a concept. A unified front to show Congress the industry stands behind itself.
Last week, during discussions on the pending health care reform legislation, Sen. Max Baucus acknowledged that, when it comes to home infusion coverage, "There is certainly a gap in benefits."
That must be music to infusion providers' ears.
Theresa Flaherty
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