Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) has authored a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to urge Congress to restore the 9.5-percent payment cut applied to complex rehab in January.
This morning, NCART Executive Director Don Clayback urged rehab providers to immediately contact their representatives and ask them to co-sign Baldwin’s letter.
Clayback indicated that signatures of support could be collected until close of business day on Tues., Oct. 6, after which time the letter would be sent to Pelosi.
Baldwin’s letter explains that complex rehab products – specifically, Group 3 power wheelchairs – were exempted last year from future Medicare competitive bidding programs. But complex rehab was included in the 9.5-percent funding cut applied in January.
“Congress explicitly exempted Group 3 products and related accessories from competitive bidding, recognizing that these products were not appropriate for bidding because of their complexity and individualized nature,” Baldwin states in her letter. “Unfortunately, however, when Congress enacted an across-the-board reduction of 9.5 percent to pay for a delay of competitive bidding, these same products were not explicitly exempted from the cut.”
Clayback called for rehab providers to ask their Congressional reps to co-sign Baldwin’s letter by contacting Elizabeth Lee, a member of Baldwin’s staff. Lee can be reached at (202) 225-2906, or at [email protected].
Clayback also asked that providers report positive results to him so he can follow up, and suggested that providers also call their senators to ask for a similar letter to be written.
For more information, visit www.ncart.us.
