Superwoman? It's CMR

During my monthly cartoon meetings with Theresa, I've suggested a few times now, a cartoon wherein Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., is depicted as Superwoman (the old-school Superwoman, the one with full sleeves and a red cape).The logo across her chest would read CMR, as AAHomecare and other industry stakeholders have begun calling her (if there's an industry that likes its acronyms, it's HME).

As anyone who knows Theresa knows, Theresa can be a tough crowd and she's always shot my idea down, probably because she thinks it's too cheesy.

But it's not hard to envision CMR as Superwoman, especially to the HME industry. Let's take a look, shall we, at what I'm sure is only a sample of what she has done for our little niche of health care:

• Most recently, she spearheaded a congressional sign-on letter supported by 56 of her peers asking the Appropriations Committee to include provisions of H.R. 4229 into budget legislation.
• Speaking of H.R. 4229, she spearheaded that, too.
• With the industry working on bid relief through not only H.R. 4229 but also an interim final rule, she stepped in there, too, spearheading another sign-on letter, this one pressuring the Office of Management and Budget to finalize the IFR.
• Leaving no stone unturned, she also recently organized a congressional staff briefing for AAHomecare and the American Thoracic Society, so they could share their research on the negative effects on the impact of competitive bidding.

Outside of HME, a visit to CMR's website shows she's also passionate about other healthcare-related issues, particularly related to veterans. She has introduced bills that would provide veterans access to their medical records at all times and direct Veterans Affairs to establish Alzheimer's disease research, education and clinical centers.

You probably already know she sits on the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee and its Health Subcommittee, but you may not already know (unless you're Ryan, Gallagher or Bachenheimer) that she's chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, making her the fourth highest ranking Republican in the House and the highest-ranking woman in Congress.

The highest-ranking woman in Congress? That's who I want behind me.

I still like the idea of CMR as Superwoman. But I also like cheese.