Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 14, 2018)—The AAHomecare lobbying team received a welcome boost from Kentucky HME leaders who put together their own “fly-in” to advocate for relief on Medicare reimbursement cuts for rural areas and address the O2 “double dip” cuts also hurting rural suppliers.
Jason Orr, president of the Kentucky Medical Equipment Suppliers Association (KMESA) joined Thad Connally, a former president of the group, to meet with every office of Kentucky’s Congressional delegation just as negotiations to shape forthcoming omnibus spending legislation are taking place on Capitol Hill.
Orr and Connally met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday morning, joined by AAHomecare’s Tom Ryan and Jay Witter, where they asked the Senator to support the HR 4229 provisions in the final package and followed up with more detailed discussions with staff from his office.
“Jason and Thad’s visit couldn’t come at a better time,” remarked Ryan. “Home medical equipment suppliers everywhere should thank these leaders for committing the time and expense to come to DC to make a face-to-face request for their help in moving the ball across the goal line for rural relief legislation.”
“In addition to reinforcing the need for relief with Sen. McConnell and several other influential Kentucky legislators, these meetings are also providing very useful intelligence for our lobbying team and other HME stakeholders who are active in this effort,” Ryan added. “We’ve got an uphill fight to get our provisions into the upcoming spending package, but powerful advocacy work like this impromptu fly-in, coupled with tremendous co-sponsor support the HME community has generated for HR 4229, increases our chances for success. I hope these KMESA leaders’ visit will help inspire HME suppliers everywhere to keep fighting to get these provisions in the appropriations bill, and to join us for the AAHomecare legislative conference and fly-in in May.”
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