August __, 2005

 

 

[Representative / Senator

Address

Washington, DC]

 

Dear (Congressman/Congresswoman ______)

 

As a provider of homecare in your District, I am writing to urge you to cosponsor H.R. 3559, “Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Access Act of 2005,” introduced on July 28 by Rep. David Hobson (R-OH) and Rep. John Tanner (D-TN).

 

This bill is critically important to protecting beneficiaries and to preserving the nation’s critical homecare infrastructure, which is an important part of the answer to the looming Medicare and Medicaid crisis. H.R. 3559 would protect Medicare homecare beneficiaries and small businesses that provide homecare by amending several of the “competitive bidding” requirements for homecare that were included in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA).

 

I am concerned that some of the contracting provisions in MMA could have the effect of restricting competition, reducing access to homecare, and hurting small homecare providers. H.R. 3559 would amend the MMA to protect patient access to homecare and allow qualified small providers to participate in the bidding program. The bill would:

 

·                  Require that competitive bidding not be implemented until quality standards are in place;

·                  Exempt smaller, rural (populations under 500,000) Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs);

·                  Allow all qualified providers that are small businesses and that submitted a bid below the current allowable to participate at the selected award price;

·                  Restore the right of providers participating in the program to administrative and judicial review;

·                  Exempt items and services unless savings of at least 10 percent can be demonstrated, compared to the fee schedule in effect January 1, 2006;

·                  Protect beneficiary access to care by requiring CMS to conduct a comparability analysis for areas that are not competitively bid to ensure the rate is appropriate to costs and does not reduce access to care;

·                  Subject the CMS Program Advisory and Oversight Committee on competitive bidding (PAOC) to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which requires public access to meetings and proceedings.

 

Can the seniors and disabled who receive homecare count on your support? 

 

I will follow up with your staff. If you have any questions, please contact me at _______

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

 

Name / Title