WASHINGTON — House Democrats revealed a draft version of
their health care reform bill on Friday, and while the massive
852-page proposal would cover nearly all Americans, it lacked two
major components: a price tag and the means to pay for it.
However, the American Association for Homecare reported that one
"pay-for" would be the elimination of the first-month purchase
option for power wheelchairs.
"A discussion draft of a health care reform bill released today
by House Democrats would eliminate the first-month purchase option
for all power wheelchairs," AAHomecare officials said.
"The House package does contain a provision that would eliminate
the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs, effective
for wheelchairs purchased on or after Jan. 1, 2011," Elyria,
Ohio-based Invacare confirmed on its Web site. "We expect the
Senate to have a similar provision, but expect the Senate proposal
to exempt complex rehab power wheelchairs."
AAHomecare said no cut to oxygen was mentioned in the House
bill. However, the association added, "AAHomecare believes that a
cut will emerge later in the legislative process as a way of paying
for health reform. The association believes a similar threat of
reductions in oxygen reimbursement exists in Senate proposals."
And that may not be all, the association said.
"In hopes of delaying the inevitable protests from affected
health care sectors, legislators in both the House and Senate have
not tipped their hands about all of their proposed cuts and
financing options. We anticipate that more details on financing
options to pay for health care reform will be released after the
July 4th congressional recess," AAHomecare told its members.
"They are taking the early versions of the [Medicare
Improvements for Patients and Providers Act] that had more pay-fors
in them, and those they didn't use they're putting on the table
this year," said Seth Johnson, vice president of government affairs
for Pride
Mobility Products, Exeter, Pa. "They'll throw everything they
can at it and see what will stick."
Passed last July, MIPPA delayed competitive bidding but mandated
a 9.5 percent cut to 10 product categories to make up for the
savings Medicare would have gained through the program.
While the Democrats did not say how much their plan would cost,
they did say they would likely pay for it by slicing Medicare and
Medicaid costs and perhaps by bumping up taxes on alcohol and soda
pop.
Among other things, the bill would require all Americans to
purchase health insurance and would establish a government-run
health plan that would go head-to-head with private insurance
companies. In unveiling the plan, House Education and Labor
Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., acknowledged it would
not please everyone. However, he added, "If there is one thing off
the table, it is saying no to health reform."
While stakeholders are concerned about the House bill, they are
even more troubled by the $1.6 billion Senate version, now going
through markup. Members of that chamber have been clear they
consider the first-month purchase option for PWCs a viable cut,
Johnson said, with lawmakers looking to shave the bill's price
tag.
"The odds are that the Senate bill will be the one that ends up
moving at the end of the day, and that's why we are putting more
emphasis on the Senate at this time," he explained, adding that the
Senate draft will likely not be released until after Congress' July
4 recess.
With more than 90 percent of beneficiaries choosing the purchase
option because of long-term needs, Johnson said he is hopeful the
industry might dodge the cut again.
"When you look at the industry's success at keeping this out of
Medicare packages for the last four years, I would say we have more
good arguments this year than in the past — tighter credit
markets, the effect on small business and, for any size business,
reduction in jobs," Johnson said. "The cuts they are looking to
make to this industry simply are not sustainable and seem
counter-intuitive to the objectives of the administration."
