Stakeholders issue challenge on H.R. 2771

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare asks providers to zero in on lawmakers who have previously co-sponsored bid-relief legislation and ask them to support H.R. 2771.

H.R. 2771, introduced in May by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Dave Loebsack, D. Iowa, has 37 co-sponsors. H.R. 4229, introduced in 2017, had 53 original co-sponsors.

“Over the next 10 days, we ask the HME community in these states to make contact with House members who co-sponsored H.R. 4229 in the last Congressional session and ask them to sign onto H.R. 2771,” the association states in a bulletin. “There are a total of 86 of these House members (26 Democrats, 60 Republicans) who should be open to signing on again—and now is the time to get them on board!”

H.R. 2771 would make permanent a 50-50 blended reimbursement rate in rural areas and would introduce a 75-25 rate for non-rural, non-bid areas. It would also eliminate the budget neutrality requirement for oxygen therapy.

In particular, getting support from the 13 members of the Ways & Means Committee and 11 members of the Energy & Commerce Committee who were co-sponsors of H.R. 4229 would bolster the industry's efforts, says AAHomecare.

The states in which members have not yet signed onto H.R. 2771 are: Alabama (2), Arizona (1), Arkansas (2), California (5), Colorado (2), Florida (1), Georgia (9), Kansas (1), Kentucky (3), Massachusetts (2), Michigan (3), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (3), Missouri (6), Montana (1), Nebraska (2), New Hampshire (1), New York (2), North Carolina (5), Ohio (6), Oklahoma (3), Rhode Island (1), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (3), Texas (5), Utah (1), Vermont (1), Virginia (3), Washington (3), Wisconsin (4), and Wyoming (1).

The complete list of members who co-sponsored H.R. 4229 but not yet H.R. 2771 can be found here.