CRT Stakeholders and Friends, Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reach out to their Representatives over the past several weeks asking them to sign on to the House of Representatives letter to CMS regarding the application of Competitive Bid Pricing to Complex Rehab wheelchair accessories. As a result of all your efforts the letter will be going to CMS with 101 signatures! See the complete list of signers at www.ncart.us. This is an extremely impressive number, both in terms of quantity AND in terms of quality. The letter shows very strong BIPARTISAN support on the need to fix this problem with a blend of 52 Democrat and 48 Republican signatures. Even more important, of those 101 Members 34 are on either the key Ways & Means or Energy & Commerce Committees. These are the Representatives that OVERSEE the Medicare program on the House side. More work lies ahead. The letter is a significant step toward a resolution, but we now must continue to work with our Congressional champions and CMS to get a formal rescission of the announced policy change and a commitment to maintain the current payment policy for Complex Rehab wheelchair accessories in 2016. Congress has asked CMS to respond to their request within 30 days. Next week many of us will be in Washington for the National CRT Conference to carry the CRT message to Congress. Our conversations will focus on two areas: (a) the need for CMS to follow the Congressional request in the House letter and (b) securing co-sponsors for the "Ensuring Access To Quality Complex Rehabilitation Act". We're looking forward to a very productive week! Regards, Don Donald E. Clayback Executive Director | NCART Office 716-839-9728 | Cell 716-913-4754 [email protected] | www.ncart.us