Tag: separate benefit for complex rehab

WASHINGTON - Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., introduced a bill yesterday to create a separate benefit for complex rehab—with a twist.The bill, H.R. 1516, is the same as last year's, with the addition of a provision to make all complex rehab items purchase items, not capped rental items.“When we looked at what has happened since the bill was originally drafted, one of the primary things is this issue around some CRT items being classified as capped rental,”...

WASHINGTON - Armed with a growing number of co-sponsors, industry stakeholders hope to get bills to create a separate benefit for complex rehab in both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed this year. The plan is to get the bills attached to a larger piece of Medicare legislation, stakeholders say."The most difficult thing about this bill, like all of our stuff, is getting a legislative vehicle that's moving through the House and Senate sooner rather than later," said Cara Bachenheimer,...

WASHINGTON - Twenty-three more lawmakers have signed on to co-sponsor bills to create a separate benefit for complex rehab in the last month, according to an email bulletin from NCART Executive Director Don Clayback. There are now 141 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and 16 in the Senate, including Sen. Mike Bennet, D-Colo., a member of the Finance Committee and the HELP Committee. The bills were one of the topics of discussion at the United Spinal Association's third annual Roll on Capitol...

WASHINGTON - A bill in the House of Representatives to create a separate benefit for complex rehab now has 107 sponsors—67 Democrats and 40 Republicans. Co-sponsors include 17 members of the House Ways and Means Committee and 10 members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, NCART reported in a recent bulletin. “We need to continue to build support and awareness so our bill is in a position to be attached to the next piece of Medicare legislation,” wrote Don Clayback, NCART executive...

WASHINGTON - Sponsors of S. 948, a Senate bill to create a separate benefit for complex rehab, circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter the week of Nov. 18 to help increase that bill's six-member co-sponsor tally.A separate House bill, H.R. 942, has 84 co-sponsors. Stakeholders say more co-sponsors are needed for both bills to convince the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to score the bill.“The challenge is the congressional environment,” said Don Clayback, executive director...

WASHINGTON - Even with the 112th Congress rapidly coming to a close, providers should keep pushing the separate benefit bill, stakeholders say.“We're not taking our foot off the gas,” said Don Clayback, executive director of NCART. “We don't want to lose the momentum we've built, and every new person we can get to sign on will make it that much easier as we move into 2013.”Sponsored by Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., the Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology...

WASHINGTON - The consumers at CELA gave lawmakers and staffers real examples of the difference complex rehab can make. � Paul Tobin, president and CEO of United Spinal Association, told people on the Hill complex rehab has allowed him to head his national organization. “I wouldn't be able to do what I do today without it,” Tobin said. � Fin Bullers, of Kansas City, Mo., said getting people complex rehab technology will get them back out into the workforce. “I'm...

WASHINGTON - It's been several years in the making, but the long-awaited bill to create a separate benefit for complex rehab was introduced yesterday."While we have significant work ahead, this is a positive step in creating recognition for the specialized nature of CRT and the changes needed to protect access to CRT for people with disabilities," stated Don Clayback, NCART executive director, in an email.Sponsored by Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., the Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation...

During an update at Medtrade on the separate benefit for complex rehab, attendees were given the chance to ask questions of  steering committee members, including Don Clayback, chairman of the committee and executive director of NCART. I always find it interesting to hear what providers are concerned about. Here are a few of their questions and Clayback's answers. Will the benefit include additional accreditation requirements for complex rehab providers? Clayback says if providers are accredited...

NRRTS sent out a bulletin to its members this week that includes a video of Jenny Siegle's trip to Washington, D.C., as part of CELA. Siegle, a consumer advocate, is shown at her job as an associate producer at Altitude Sports in Colorado and on Capitol Hill in D.C. to meet with lawmakers to discuss the need for a separate benefit for complex rehab to preserve access to high-end power wheelchairs and other technology. The video is timely in a number of ways: As you can see from this update...