May 11, 2014
Urge Support for Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act
Bipartisan legislation to provide relief to durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) suppliers and their patients in rural areas nationwide is gaining traction in the United States Senate. To urge your senators, send a letter using HIDA's customizeable template.
S. 2736, the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act introduced by Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), recognizes the unique challenges and expenses associated with serving patients in less-densely populated areas nationwide. Specifically, this legislation will:
- Delay the second cut for DMEPOS items in non- competitive bid areas by 15 months. Pushing the second round of cuts from July 1, 2016 until October 1, 2017.
- Replace the bid ceiling for future rounds of bidding with the unadjusted fee service rates from January 1, 2015 instead of CMS’ current plans to limit future bid ceilings to the previous bid rates.
- Require CMS to solicit stakeholder input and take into account travel costs, volume, clearing price and information on the number of providers serving bid areas as part of rate-setting activities for January 2019 and beyond.
- Require CMS to monitor and report on access issues and health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries utilizing DMEPOS with updates provided on the CMS website on a monthly basis.
S. 2736 currently has 26 cosponsors, but additional support is needed to get it to the finish line. Check the Co-sponsors page to determine if your Senator has already signed onto S. 2736. HIDA has provided a template letter for your convenience. The letter can be edited to reflect your company’s perspective and experience.
Start your letter using the customizeable template ►
If your company is impacted by the nationwide expansion of the pricing under Medicare’s Competitive Bidding Program for DMEPOS we encourage you to contact your Senators and urge them to support S. 2736. This legislation will delay the next round of rural reimbursement rate cuts so that the impact of the nationwide expansion of the competitive bidding program can be properly assessed.
Please contact HIDA Government Affairs if you have any questions, kohl@HIDA.org or 703-838-6121.