—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 1, 2017)—Thanks to strong outreach efforts by the HME community, legislation providing relief for rural/non-bid area suppliers spearheaded by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) has garnered 49 original co-sponsors. This is a very strong number of original co-sponsors, eclipsing the 40 original co-sponsors for last year’s legislation on the rural relief issue, H.R. 5210.
The bill is expected to be formally introduced tomorrow (November 2), and we will be looking for a strong push from the HME community to help generate additional co-sponsors and build momentum for the legislation, which will essentially roll back the second round of 2016’s bidding derived reimbursement cuts and also remedy rate cuts for stationary oxygen in rural areas caused by the application of an outdated 2006 budget neutrality offset.
While Members who joined June’s Congressional sign-on letter would appear to be some of the best prospects for co-sponsorship, we hope to broaden the co-sponsor list as much as possible. Additional Democratic support, as well as support from members of the influential Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means Committees, would be particularly welcome.
Thanks again for your work to help get the bill off to a strong start! Stay tuned for details on the formal introduction of this legislation when it's announced.
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