With Congress in recess for the month of August, it’s a great time to talk to and meet with Representatives and Senators while they’re back on their – and your – home turf.
The timing couldn’t be better for National Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) Awareness week, which runs Aug. 18-22.
Industry and consumer advocacy groups are urging stakeholders to use the recess to talk with members of Congress about H.R. 942 and S. 948, the U.S. House and Senate bills that would carve out a separate Medicare benefit category for CRT.
As this issue closed, H.R. 942 had 148 co-sponsors, while its companion Senate bill had 20 co-sponsors, according to an Aug. 15 memo by NCART Executive Director Don Clayback.
He emphasized that getting members of Congress to lend their support can require repeated efforts and communications.
“We have seen time and again that it’s persistence — that second and third contact with the office — that gets a member to sign on,” Clayback said in his bulletin. “Your next outreach can be what finally gets them on board.”
Clayback also pointed out that consumer advocacy groups UsersFirst and United Spinal Association were encouraging their members to contact Congress regarding the CRT bills.
On the Aug. 19 edition of “Disability Matters with Joyce Benter,” a VoiceAmerica Internet radio show, Clayback will discuss National CRT Awareness Week and the two bills currently in Congress.
The access2crt.org Web site serves as an industry resource to educate and mobilize legislators, healthcare professionals, consumers and caregivers in support of CRT and separate recognition of this highly customized type of seating & mobility technology.
