Tag: Sign-On Letter

WASHINGTON – Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Adrian Smith, R-Neb., are collecting signatures for a sign-on letter asking CMS to accept the standard written order as the only necessary documentation to establish medical necessity for audits of home oxygen, sleep and non-invasive ventilation claims submitted during the public health emergency, according to AAHomecare.  The letter asks CMS to protect patient access by instructing contractors to use CMS’s widely accepted oxygen...

WASHINGTON – Stakeholders seek signatures for a fast-moving sign-on letter in the House of Representatives to protect access to accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs.  The letter, which asks CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to extend an 18-month pause on competitive bidding pricing for these accessories, closes June 21.  “Please email the individual who handles health care issues with your representative’s office,” AAHomecare stated...

WASHINGTON - Reps. John Larson, D-Conn., and Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., have extended the deadline for their sign-on letter asking CMS to permanently exempt accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs from competitive bidding pricing to Sept. 18. “They understand it's been challenging to contact offices during the August recess and want to give us more time to continue our outreach to other representatives,” NCART stated in a bulletin. The deadline was previously Aug. 31. For the current...

WASHINGTON - CMS says it has safeguards in place to protect beneficiary access to non-invasive ventilators during Round 2021 of competitive bidding.The statement is in response to the 180 members of the House of Representatives who signed a letter asking the agency to drop non-invasive vents from the program.“The response fails to address the central tenets of the House sign-on letter, including the idea that 'adequacy of Medicare payment for critical services like home ventilation care is...

WASHINGTON - Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, on Monday sent a letter signed by 38 senators asking HHS and CMS to drop non-invasive vents from Round 2021 of competitive bidding, according to AAHomecare.The letter highlights the critical role that vents play in supporting patients with severe health issues, including individuals with neuromuscular diseases and terminal respiratory conditions.“Rather than moving forward with an abrupt effort to include all non-invasive vents...

WASHINGTON - A sign-on letter asking CMS to drop non-invasive vents from the competitive bidding program has support from 129 members of the House of Representatives and counting, AAHomecare reports. The deadline for collecting signatures has been extended to June 14, according to the association. The call for signatures dovetails with the ALS Association's visits to Capitol Hill this week. Hundreds of stakeholders engaged members of the House and Senate on the vent issue and other ALS policy priorities....

WASHINGTON - Reps. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., and Peter Welch, D-Vt., are leading a congressional sign-on letter asking CMS and HHS to drop non-invasive vents from Round 2021 of competitive bidding.Industry stakeholders and their champions in Congress argue that vents are life-supporting, service-intensive medical devices and that including them in the program will negatively impact medically fragile patients.“Congress has never specifically directed the secretary to competitively bid ventilators...

WASHINGTON - A groundswell of grassroots support carried a pair of bid-related sign-on letters over the finish line last week, say industry stakeholders.The final tally: 138 signatures on the letter in the House of Representatives, spearheaded by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.; and 32 signatures on the letter in the Senate, spearheaded by Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.“Every office we walked into had heard from state leaders and providers,” said Tom Ryan, president...

WASHINGTON - A sign-on letter in the House of Representatives that seeks additional relief from Medicare's competitive bidding program has nearly 100 signatures, VGM Group reports this week.The deadline for collecting signatures for the letter, spearheaded by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., is this Friday, Oct. 5.“Great work reaching out to your member of Congress,” VGM stated in a bulletin.The letter will be sent to CMS Administrator Seema Verma, HHS Secretary Alex Azar and OMB...

WASHINGTON - A Senate sign-on letter supporting additional relief from Medicare's competitive bidding program was released Sept. 28, a companion letter to one circulating in the House of Representatives, which had garnered 79 signatures at press time Friday.The Senate letter, spearheaded by Sens. John Thune, R-S.D, and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., urges CMS to increase reimbursement rates in bid areas until the next round of the program is implemented and extend 50/50 blended reimbursement rates to all...