BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--Rep. Bill Thomas, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman who has been at odds with the HME industry for years, announced last week that he will not seek re-election. The California Republican's current term, his 14th, ends in nine months.

During his tenure, Thomas, 64, was instrumental in passage of a number of measures that have been considered damaging to HME, most notably the Medicare Modernization Act, which included a DME competitive bidding provision. And in the recently passed Deficit Reduction Act, he was successful in inserting a last-minute provision to cap Medicare oxygen rental at 36 months--after both the Senate and House of Representatives had passed versions of the bill without it (see HomeCare Monday, Jan. 9).

Thomas, who has served in Congress since 1979, became famous for his temper and clashes with colleagues, sometimes with Senate counterpart Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, over policy and procedures. Under House rules, Thomas has to step down at the end of this term as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee--a position he has held since 2001.

While Thomas will be leaving, some industry advocates are concerned he could propose other measures before his retirement that could hurt HME.

"I have no delusions that all of a sudden he's going to go away," said John Gallagher, vice president of government relations for Waterloo, Iowa-based VGM Group and spokesman for Last Chance for Patient Choice, a non-profit group that staged a late January protest outside Thomas' Bakersfield, Calif., office.

"While we're doing the jig and the happy dance, we still have nine months. We've got to make sure we don't get hit again," Gallagher warned.

Cara Bachenheimer, vice president of government relations for Elyria, Ohio-based Invacare Corp., agreed that it's not time to breathe a sigh of relief just yet. "We still have a big year. Lots of things could develop during 2006. Even after Chairman Thomas retires, the industry has its work cut out," she said. "We need to make the extra effort, member by member, to educate them about the value and services we provide that enable consumers with acute and chronic conditions to live a better quality of life in their homes."