Bachenheimer said the bill has been placed on an expedited track and could be voted on Tuesday. The bill’s sponsors only do that, she said, if they are confident they have the votes to get it passed.

“This is the best package that we can possibly get,” said Bachenheimer. “We certainly need industry consensus on this issue. We have a lot of people on Capitol Hill doing a lot of hard work and they need to hear that the industry is 150 percent behind them.”

AAHomecare endorses H.R. 6252
In a statement issued Friday, the American Association for Homecare urged passasge of the Stark-Camp measure.

“The American Association for Homecare sought an across-the-board reduction to all DME items and not just the bidding product categories selected by CMS,” said Tyler Wilson, president. “An across-the-board cut would have resulted in a smaller percentage reduction in reimbursement. However, the association was unsuccessful in getting its position included in the final legislation and AAHomecare elected, after careful consideration, to accept the Ways and Means Committee package rather than risk implementation of round one of bidding.”

Added Wilson, “This bill is critical to making important improvements to Medicare policy that will protect America’s seniors and people with disabilities who depend on home medical equipment and services in their homes. If allowed to go forward, the bidding program will put thousands of qualified home care providers out of business and reduce patients’ access to quality home medical equipment and services.”

Earlier this month, 132 House members--nearly a third of its membership--signed a letter asking Stark, Camp and other members of the Ways and Means Committee to support a delay of competitive bidding. And last week, 40 members of the Senate signed on to a letter calling for legislation to delay the program.

In a press release on H.R. 6252 issued by Stark, he said he would work with colleagues “for its swift passage so that the program can be redesigned to meet the needs of patients, providers and taxpayers.”

In addition to AAHomecare, Stark’s release listed a number of organizations supporting H.R. 6252, including:

• American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• American Podiatric Medical Association
• American Society of Transplantation
• Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Health Task Force
• Health Industry Distributors of America
• Independence Through Enhancement of Medicare and Medicaid (ITEM) Coalition
• National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology
• National Community Pharmacists Association
• Orthotic and Prosthetic Alliance
• Pedorthic Footwear Association
• The Endocrine Society
• Vision Council of America
• Wound Ostomy Continence Nurses Society

Medicare ‘doc fix’ package also in the works
Stark’s bill isn’t the only one needing support. In the Senate, as Baucus and Grassley work toward a compromise Medicare “doc fix” bill--which would stop a 10.6 percent physician pay cut set to take effect July 1--the industry needs to back Grassley’s version, said Pride’s Johnson.