Distributors return to Capitol Hill, double down on advocacy
By Linda Rouse O’Neill
HIDA met with 28 members of Congress and held an additional 50 meetings with key congressional staff. Pictured (from left to right): Matthew J. Rowan, HIDA, U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN), Mark Zacur, Fisher HealthCare
More than 50 leading healthcare distribution executives met in Washington, D.C., at the end of June for HIDA’s annual Capitol Hill fly-in and Washington Summit. The distributors, along with manufacturer partners, participated in more than 80 meetings with members of Congress and key staffers, a 33 percent increase from HIDA’s 2014 meeting.
Attendees met with congressional leaders and their senior staff who sit on key committees that influence healthcare and supply chain policy: the House Ways and Means, House Energy and Commerce, Senate Finance, and Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) committees. Targeted advocacy efforts and strategic discussions focused on a number of important industry issues, including emergency preparedness, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) competitive bidding program for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS), and continued calls to repeal the current 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices.
Subhead: Emergency preparedness receives national attention
HIDA has long advocated on behalf of medical products distributors regarding the pivotal role they play as essential support for providers during natural disasters, biological events, and other adverse scenarios. The Ebola crisis in late 2014 strengthened the ongoing relationship distributors have with government agencies that monitor product availability and public response, such as the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Healthcare and Public Health Sector Coordinating Council (HSCC).
Government representatives are taking heed of these efforts and getting action plans in place to establish future contingencies for emergency events. U.S. Representative Susan Brooks (R-IN) spoke to Summit attendees about the need for legislation on pandemic preparedness, something she intends to introduce on the House floor in the coming months. She explained that distributors need to let their customers know about the medical supply areas in which they might be vulnerable in the event of an emergency, rather than have them operate under the assumption that medical products are at the ready for emergency distribution at any given time.
Strategic National Stockpile representatives from the CDC also lauded HIDA’s work to educate and share information on product availability. Steven A. Adams, SNS Deputy Director, and Dr. Anita Patel, SNS Domestic Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Supply Lead, stressed the importance of open communication and collaboration between trading partners and the government to manage logistical capability expectations during supply and demand fluctuations. They also added that since some CDC recommended PPE products in emergency scenarios are not always commonly used in hospitals, distributors can help customers through staff training and product selection exercises.
Subhead: Will the medical device tax get repealed?
During Hill meetings, distributors made sure to thank House supporters of the bipartisan Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 (H.R. 160), which included language to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices and passed the House by a vote of 280-140. Future progress of the bill remains in doubt, since it does not include a pay-for mechanism for the $24 billion in expected revenue that would be eliminated with a repeal of the tax (the President has threatened to veto any medical device tax repeal that does not account for this revenue).
Medical device tax repeal was also brought up during a joint, bipartisan healthcare policy discussion with U.S. Representative Bob Latta (R-OH) and U.S. Representative Gene Green (D-TX). Both congressmen recognized that it remains a top priority for their constituents and distributors, pointing to the recent passage of the 21st Century Cures Act and the Drug Quality and Security Act as positive signs that Congress is serious about legislating in favor of inactivity.
Similar device tax repeal legislation has been introduced in the Senate (S. 149) and awaits further action. There is no set timetable for bringing this legislation to a vote, but it might be used as a compromise during budget talks later this fall. HIDA supports repeal of the tax, which has been suggested to cause adverse effects on healthcare efficiency.
Subhead: Work still needed on Competitive Bidding
During 2014 fly-in meetings, distributors encouraged legislators to endorse a letter requesting the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to conduct a comprehensive assessment of Medicare’s Competitive Bidding program. The letter included language that directed the OIG to assess any changes in products and treatment patterns of enteral nutrition patients residing in skilled nursing facilities, nursing facilities, and intermediate care facilities.
In a noteworthy win for the extended care market, this message was heard in December when the $1.1 trillion omnibus bill included a provision requiring CMS to conduct a Competitive Bidding study on the program’s impact on these enteral patients in the long-term care facility settings previously mentioned. The study was due March 31 and has yet to be released, a talking point during congressional visits as distributors asked their government representatives to request that CMS release the results.
If the study finds that the Competitive Bidding program adversely affects enteral nutrition patients, there could be significant implications or possible delays for the nationwide program expansion set for Jan. 1, 2016. HIDA recognizes that Congress needs time to review the results before nationwide implementation and stressed this point during Hill visits.
Distributors who choose to take their key business and customer priorities directly to legislators on Capitol Hill continue to make headway on advancing healthcare supply chain interests, and the results to date validate these efforts. For more information on HIDA’s Washington Summit, visit www.HIDA.org/Summit or contact HIDAGovAffairs@hida.org.
IMAGE CUTLINES
1: HIDA met with 28 members of Congress and held an additional 50 meetings with key congressional staff. Pictured (from left to right): Matthew J. Rowan, HIDA, U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN), Mark Zacur, Fisher HealthCare
2: U.S. Reps. Gene Green (D-TX) and Bob Latta (R-OH) answer questions on health reform, bipartisanship, and the upcoming Presidential Election during their “Bipartisan Political Forecast” discussion
3:(From left to right) U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) meets with Gary Reeve, MMS – A Medical Supply Company, and Linda Rouse O’Neill, HIDA, during a Capitol Hill fly-in congressional office visit.