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Tanner-Hobson Keynote: H.R. 1845 Has Bipartisan Support, But Needs More Provider Help
ORLANDO, Fla. — Hours before its famed exhibit hall opened, Medtrade kicked off its 2007 event with a keynote address sponsored by Invacare Corp. and featuring two very familiar Congressional names.
Reps. David Hobson (R-Ohio) and John Tanner (D-Tenn.) recorded video greetings and messages that were played for scores of attendees at the 7:30 a.m. gathering on Tuesday, Oct. 2. The event was hosted by Invacare CEO Mal Mixon and Senior Vice President of Government Relations Cara Bachenheimer.
The Tanner-Hobson bill (H.R. 1845) seeks to reform the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) competitive bidding program in a number of ways. The most talked-about provision would allow any willing and qualified provider to supply DME at CMS' winning bid rates, even if the provider was not deemed a "winning bidder" or did not submit a bid at all.
At the keynote address, Mixon announced the bill had 121 co-sponsors.
In his message, Rep. Hobson said, "Throughout my years in Congress, I've worked on a variety of health care issues, including writing Ohio's first AIDS bill in the 1980s (and) improving access to mammograms for women. Today, I want to talk to you about how we can help seniors and people with disabilities maintain access to the home health care equipment that they depend on, and how we can help home health care providers like you."
Hobson said the current competitive bidding plan concerns him because "in its current form, it will exclude thousands of durable medical equipment providers from participating in Medicare, even if they agree to the new payment rates… Congressman John Tanner and I believe there's a better way. That's why we've introduced a bipartisan bill to make changes to CMS' new bidding program. Our bill does many things, but most importantly, it allows qualified DME providers to participate in Medicare and exempts smaller rural areas from this process."
Hobson called on suppliers to support the bill as well: "John (Tanner) and I are working to get broad-based support of our bill… but John and I also need your help. We need providers like you to write, call and visit your Congressmen and Senators. They need to hear first-hand from you how your business and the services you provide to their constituents will be adversely affected by the changes being made by CMS."
Rep. Tanner said he wanted to use his keynote address time "to speak with you about some of the most important issues facing us in the home care industry. In a minute I'll talk about some of the work we're doing in Washington with Congressman David Hobson and others, but first I want to thank you for your work to save lives. Our nation and its economy are only as healthy as our citizens… Like you, I recognize the need to protect patients' access to quality care."
Tanner said he was concerned that current competitive bidding plans "use the lowest-cost providers without consideration of the quality of the reimbursed items and services provided. I am still concerned about how competitive bidding will affect those living in rural areas."
He, too, asked for suppliers' support in getting the word out on competitive bidding and other threats to DME, including funding cuts for oxygen and the proposed elimination of the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs: "Congressman Hobson and I are talking to others about our legislation every day… I am hopeful we can educate our colleagues about the detrimental effects of these provisions on those patients that require oxygen and wheelchairs and eliminate these provisions from future consideration. Please keep up your work for your patients and to improve the home health care system for the future."
Following Hobson's and Tanner's remarks, Mixon said, "If there's one single message we can give: When you go home from this show, go see your Congressman; explain this bill. Ask them to talk to either Dave Hobson or John Tanner to sign onto this bill."
Bachenheimer emphasized the importance of H.R. 1845's "any willing provider" provision: "If you've talked to your member of Congress, I'm sure you've gotten the same reaction — this makes a lot of sense. You can talk about it in terms of consumers' access: If you have a long-term relationship with a client and you end up not being a ‘winning' provider, this particular provision would allow you to continue to serve that patient. That's an argument that a lot of folks on the Hill are sympathetic to, as well."
Another important aspect of H.R. 1845, Bachenheimer said, would affect the second round of competitive bidding, due to impact 70 additional metropolitan areas. The provision in H.R. 1845 would prevent that second round to start "unless Congress specifically passes legislation to require competitive bidding to go further," Bachenheimer said. "So essentially, Congress would have to come back and literally pass another law before CMS could extend the program."
Additional key H.R. 1845 provisions deal with due process for suppliers involved in competitive bidding, and quality standards provisions.
To learn more about H.R. 1845, visit the American Association for Homecare's Web site — www.aahomecare.org — and search under 1845.
Approximately 200 people attended the keynote address.
