The past three weeks have seen an unprecedented surge of activity by the hospice community on the Part D issue. Through the Advocacy Intensive and the virtual ‘click2call’ campaign, Congress heard our message in record numbers. And not only did they hear our message, they listened and they acted! The sign-on letter campaign was a resounding success-let’s break the co-signers down: • 75 United States Senators • 202 Members of the House of Representatives • 19 out of 24 Members of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over hospice in the Senate • 26 out of 39 Members of the House Ways & Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over hospice in the House of Representatives • 9 states ‘ran the table’ and had their entire Congressional delegation sign on (IA, ND, AR, ME, HI, WY, AK, WV & NH)! • 15 Members of Congress who are also physicians or nurses signed on Quite simply, we don’t think there could have been a stronger showing for our community. But that’s not all! NHPCO & HAN have been working on this issue through a number of other legislative channels on behalf of the hospice community, and we’ve had some results there as well: • Letter by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) to CMS asking to halt implementation • Coalition letter from over 45 stakeholder groups asking CMS to halt implementation • NHPCO was also part of a stakeholder meeting at CMS, where all stakeholder groups (Part D Plans, Hospices, Pharmacy Providers and Patient Groups) unanimously called for a halt to implementation • NHPCO also expects the Senate Aging Committee to send their own letter to CMS later this week. And last week, even the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) commented on the guidance, and suggested that the guidance be suspended until a uniform process can be implemented. Hospice Advocates, this is what a push-back looks like. Through your efforts, both Congress and CMS have heard what this misguided policy is doing to the patients and families you serve. So thank you- without your voices, we simply could not have done this. Thanks for all your help, and we’ll let you know if we hear of any policy changes resulting from your tremendous advocacy! hospiceactionnetwork.org/han-in-action/han-events/advocacy-intensive/call-your-members/
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 21:21:03 +0000
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