June 25, 2019
CRT Stakeholders and Friends,
We wanted to share two very positive developments regarding our Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) legislation:
CRT Manual Wheelchair Bill Included In New
House Legislation: The House
Ways & Means Committee will be holding a markup session (Committee review
and approval session) tomorrow that will include a proposed health care bill
entitled the "HEARTS
and Rural Relief Act". This new bill includes the CRT Manual
Wheelchair bill language from H.R. 2293 and is bipartisan being led by
Representatives Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Devin Nunes (R-CA). It also includes
three non-CRT provisions, with the lead item relating to Veterans' health care
for returning troops.
The inclusion of our CRT language in a larger bill is excellent news and the
fact the bill is going through the Committee "markup" process places
the bill in a much stronger position for a full House vote. Our immediate
objective is to get the new bill approved by the Committee at tomorrow's markup
session.
We are asking CRT stakeholders to review the list of Ways & Means Committee
Members here
and if your Representative is on the Committee to contact their office and ask
them to approve the "HEARTS and Rural Relief Act" at the markup
session. We thank Chairman Richie Neal (D-MA), Ranking Member Kevin Brady
(R-TX) and our House leads Representatives John Larson (D-CT) and Lee Zeldin
(R-NY) for their leadership in protecting access to CRT!
National Consumer/Clinician Groups CRT
Letters To Congress: Last
Friday the ITEM Coalition, a national organization of consumer and medical
professional organizations, sent three letters to Congress in support of our
CRT legislation. The letters were signed by 32 national groups including the
United Spinal Association, National MS Society, ALS Association, National
Coalition for Independent Living, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Amputee
Coalition, Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Spina Bifida Association,
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Occupational
Therapy Association, American Physical Therapy Association, and Clinician Task
Force. Our sincere thanks to ITEM and all the signing organizations for their
support!
You can access the letters here: H.R.
2293 House Complex Rehab Wheelchair Bill, S.
1223 Senate Complex Rehab Wheelchair Bill, and H.R.
2408 House Separate Benefit Category Bill. If your Members have not signed
on as cosponsors yet, take this opportunity to share the appropriate letter
with them to reinforce your request.
These developments are great progress but we need to keep the momentum moving forward. As we continue to work with our Congressional champions, please use the resources at www.protectmymobility.org to reach out to your Members asking them to cosponsor and help get the bills passed. An ongoing team effort is what will get us over the finish line to protect access for individuals with disabilities!