Lawmakers back capped-rental delay
By HME News Staff
Updated Fri March 7, 2014
WASHINGTON - A group of lawmakers has written to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to express concerns with CMS's plans to transition certain complex rehab items to capped-rental status on April 1. In the March 6 letter, the two representatives and two senators ask CMS to delay the transition until at least July 1 “to allow for the development of appropriate classification policies that provide patients with medically necessary CRT equipment in a reasonable and cost-effective way.” Industry stakeholders contend, and these lawmakers agree, that CMS is basing its decision on Medicare claims data that is more than 27 years old and fundamentally flawed. CMS has said that congressional action would be needed to update the statute that requires use of the outdated data, according to the letter. Sens. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., ask for a prompt response to their request for delay.
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