HR 1406/S. 3021 & HR 955/S. 1849 - Support Letter

HR 1406/S. 3021, Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act

This bill will allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive CR/ICR/PR services via real-time, audio/visual communication from their home. This hybrid delivery of hospital-based CR/ICR/PR services was effective during the pandemic and allowed more patients to receive these beneficial treatments. Beneficiaries who are rural or located in an area without a brick-and-mortar program, without transportation or the financial means to travel to a center, and other barriers to participation in a CR/ICR/PR program demonstrated comparable benefits to those in center-based programs.

HR 955/S. 1849, SOS: Sustaining Outpatient Services Act

This bill will exempt certain hospital outpatient services, including cardiac, intensive cardiac, and pulmonary rehabilitation (CR, ICR, PR) from a drastic reimbursement reduction that is based solely on the location of the hospital outpatient service. The Sustaining Outpatient Services Act mandates that Medicare payment for hospital-based CR/ICR/PR services remain under the outpatient payment rate. The 60% reduction in reimbursement for off-campus CR/ICR/PR is unsustainable, and yet, these services are underutilized and are encouraged to expand to treat more beneficiaries than is physically possible. This legislative correction will remove the financial barrier to expanded patient access to these beneficial services.

Obviously, HR 955/S. 1849 and HR 1406/S. 3021 are synergistic. Programs are currently at capacity with excessively long waiting lists to even begin CR, ICR, or PR. With these bills, cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services will be able to improve access and meet the increasing demand for these beneficial treatments.

Please support cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services and patients by signing these bills today. Thank you for caring.

Take Steps to Advocate

Contact Your U.S. Representatives and Senators with a Customizable Letter

Want to help? It’s not too late to join fellow practitioners in your state to advocate for CR, ICR, and PR services. Please ask for support (i.e., signature on both bills) of HR 1406/S. 3021 and HR 955/S. 1849. AACVPR has made it easy. Anyone, including rehab staff members, physicians, hospital administrators, and grateful patients can be an advocate for CR and PR services. Use the below pre-drafted, customizable letters to contact your U.S. House representative and advocate for bills above. Just five minutes and one letter could make a huge difference! Show your support for the life-changing effects of CR/ICR/PR and click on one of the buttons below to start your letter.

Converse With Your U.S. Representatives Over the Phone

A brief phone call to your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative’s DC office is also very powerful to express your support for HR 1406/S. 3021 and HR 955/S. 1849. Your short call will be received by a staff person who tracks issues that are important to constituents in that representative's office. Your call will be counted. It is a very simple message:

• Share your name, where you live and where you work
• Ask for support of these two bills
• Explain why both bills are important to you

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