WASHINGTON, DC – The stage is set for an intense round of grassroots and
Capitol Hill lobbying in support of competitive bidding rural relief
and bid ceiling fix legislation, and with a July 1 deadline looming for a
new round of cuts, the time for action is now.
Outreach to Congress this week and next week to help build on the strong initial support for both Senate (S. 2736, currently at 27 cosponsors) and House (H.R. 5210, now at 52 cosponsors)
legislation will help drive home the importance of this legislation in
advance of AAHomecare’s Washington Legislative Conference Hill visits.
If you haven’t yet made direct contact with your legislators, please call your Senators and Representative (find contact information here),
asking that they co-sponsor competitive bidding rural relief
legislation (and reference the Senate or House bill number, as
applicable) – and let them know, in your own words, why you believe the
next round (July 1) of bidding-derived cuts for rural and non-bid areas
need to be delayed until the effects of the January 1 cuts can be fully
assessed.
While you should always
remain respectful and composed when talking with Congressional offices,
please make sure Capitol Hill audiences recognize the urgent nature of
this legislation for the HME community.
Additional tools and perspectives:
•
We especially need to build House Democrat support, so if your
Representative is from that party, your efforts will be particularly
valuable. One source of potential support in both party segments should
be co-sponsors of H.R. 4185,
bidding relief legislation introduced last year – Democrats supporting
that legislation who are not yet H.R. 5210 cosponsors include: Sanford Bishop (Ga.), Joe Courtney (Conn.), Bill Keating (Mass.), Ann Kirkpatrick (Ariz.), James Langevin (R.I.), Stephen Lynch (Mass.), Chellie Pingree (Mass.), Terri Sewell (Ala.) and Pete Visclosky (Ind.).
• While H.R. 5210 has garnered the most attention with its recent introduction, we still need to build additional support for S. 2736 – so please continue your efforts to generate additional Senate cosponsors.
• Issue briefs on S. 2736 and H.R. 5210
• State-by-state maps showing CBAs as well as regional/non-bid and rural areas
• Email your legislators here
•
The House and Senate will be on recess from May 30-June 3; this may be
your last chance for a back-home meeting before potential action on
rural bidding legislation takes place.
HME advocates from across
the country will be on Capitol Hill next week as part of AAHomecare’s
Washington Legislative conference making the case for this legislation
and other HME policy priorities. Please amplify the power of these boots
on the ground by demonstrating back-home, grassroots support for H.R.
5210 and S. 2736 today.
For more information on the AAHomecare Legislative Conference in Washington, DC (May 25-26), as well as how to register for the event, Click Here.