WASHINGTON--On Thursday, Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Access Act of 2007 to soften some effects of national competitive bidding.

The House version of the proposed legislation--known as the Tanner-Hobson bill, or H.R. 1845--was introduced March 29 by Reps. John Tanner, D-Tenn., and David Hobson, R-Ohio and has picked up 26 cosponsors. (See HomeCare Monday, April 2.) A similar bill last year failed to make it through congressional channels before the end of the term.

Officially known as S. 1428, the new Senate bill would:

--Exempt smaller rural areas (MSAs with populations under 500,000);

--Allow all qualified small providers that do not receive a contract under competitive bidding to continue to provide HME to Medicare beneficiaries at the price that is set;

--Restore the rights of participating providers to administrative and judicial review; and

--Exempt items and services from the competitive bidding program unless savings of at least 10 percent can be demonstrated.

The Senate bill lacks some provisions that appear in the House measure, which would allow any qualified provider who had submitted a bid below the current allowable to continue serving Medicare beneficiaries at the bid rate. The House bill would also require a competitive bidding impact analysis on beneficiaries and providers, and would prevent application of the bid rates to non-bid areas unless specifically authorized by Congress.

If both bills pass, their differences would have to be resolved in a joint conference committee.

Industry advocates are urging all HME providers to ask their federal legislators to sign on to the bills, and the American Association for Homecare will push for the changes to competitive bidding during its annual Capitol Hill lobby day in June (see "AAH Set to Storm the Hill" in this issue).

The text of the bill should be available shortly at http://thomas.loc.gov.