May 9, 2018 Stakeholders & Friends, We wanted to share information on two important Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) issues: (1) A new sign-on letter being circulated in the House of Representatives this week to protect CRT items from inappropriate Medicaid cuts; your help is needed to get your Representative to sign on; and (2) The addition of 18 cosponsors to our CRT legislation; are your Members on the cosponsor list? CRT House of Representatives Sign-On Letter- The 21st Century Cures Act (Cures) is legislation passed in 2016 that included limits on the federal Medicaid Durable Medical Equipment (DME) subsidy to states in specific situations. This limitation, when applicable, involves applying Competitive Bid payment rates to certain DME items. The Cures Act was not meant to negatively impact CRT items, but unfortunately that is happening in some states. To formally inform CMS that Congress did not intend for the provision and DME Competitive Bid payment rates to be applied to CRT items, Representatives Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Robert Latta (R-OH) are sending a letter to CMS Administrator Verma. To strengthen the message, they are asking their fellow Representatives to add their signatures (sign-on) to the letter. Here's what you need to do: This PDF file has the House "Dear Colleague" letter (cover letter) and the text of the letter to Administrator Verma that they are being asked to sign-on to. Please share this PDF with your Representative (not your Senators) and ask them to follow the instructions in the Dear Colleague letter to add their signature and help protect access to CRT. We only have until next Thursday May 17 to gather signatures, so your prompt attention is appreciated. Please let us know when you secure a signature so we can continue to monitor progress. New CRT Legislation Cosponsors- As a result of the ongoing follow up from CRT Conference attendees, we have added 18 cosponsors to our CRT bills. Thanks to those who are doing this critical follow up! The list of additions is below. Please visit www.protectmymobility.org where you can see a complete list of cosponsors. If your members are not signed on yet, use the links to send an email and use polite persistence to get their commitment.
| New H.R. 3730 Cosponsors Since CRT Conference | ||||
| State | Member | Party | Comm | |
| 1 | AZ | McSally, Martha | R | |
| 2 | CA | Chu, Judy | D | W&M |
| 3 | DC | Norton, Elenaor | D | |
| 4 | IN | Visclosky, Peter | D | |
| 5 | MI | Dingell, Debbie | D | E&C |
| 6 | MO | Luetkemeyer, Blaine | R | |
| 7 | NJ | Lance, Leonard | D | E&C |
| 8 | NM | Lujan-Grisham, Michelle | D | |
| 9 | NY | Engel, Eliot | D | E&C |
| 10 | OH | Jordan, Jim | R | |
| 11 | PA | Fitzpatrick, Brian | R | |
| 12 | PA | Cartwright, Matt | D | |
| 13 | PA | Doyle, Michael | D | E&C |
| 14 | WA | Kilmer, Derek | D | |
| New S. 486 Cosponsors Since CRT Conference | ||||
| 1 | IA | Grassley, Chuck | R | FIN |
| New H.R. 750 Cosponsors Since CRT Conference | ||||
| 1 | IN | Visclosky, Peter | D | |
| 2 | NJ | Lance, Leonard | R | E&C |
| 3 | PA | Fitzpatrick, Brian | R | |
May 9, 2018 by NCART