The results of intensive industry efforts to back industry legislation aimed at changing competitive bidding and reforming CMS’s audit program continued to roll in this week.
HME advocates capitalized on the congressional recess during August to back the binding bids bill, H.R. 4920, and the audit reform package, H.R. 5083. Moreover, once Congress returned, the industry punctuated those efforts with a Washington, D.C. legislative fly-in that was hosted by The MED Group in conjunction with the American Association for Homecare on Sept. 9 and 10.
The event resulted in 100 meetings across 15 states and helped maintain both bills’ momentum.
H.R. 5083, known as the Audit Improvement and Reform Act (aka, the AIR Act), grabbed another six backers since last week, bringing the bill’s total number of co-sponsors to 27. The new signers are:
- Rep. Todd Young (Ind.)
- Rep. Mike Kelly (Pa.)
- Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.)
- Rep. Tom Marino (Pa.)
- Rep. Tom Latham (Iowa)
- Rep. Scott Tipton (Colo.)
H.R. 4920, known as the Binding Bids bill, picked up three backers last week, bringing its number of co-sponsors to 40. The new lawmakers to back the bill are:
- Rep. Chris Collins (N.Y.)
- Rep. Robert Aderholt (Ala.)
- Rep. Tom Marino (Pa.)
“Working together on our HME legislative priorities — through back home meetings, letters to Capitol Hill, and face to face meetings in DC — will ultimately be what makes the difference in getting these bills passed and enacted into law,” said AAHomecare CEO Tom Ryan. “We fully appreciate the sacrifice and expense involved in coming to DC for these events. I would like to thank the Med Group and the dedicated attendees for their tireless efforts in raising the profile of HME on Capitol Hill.”