Understanding S. 329 and HR 552:
The Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Bill of 2007

January 22, 2007

The House of Representatives has joined the Senate in introducing the Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Bill of 2007. HR. 552 was introduced in the House by Congressman John Lewis (D-GA). This is the companion bill to S. 329 and contains the exact provisions as the Senate bill.

January 19, 2007

The Senate has introduced a bill, S. 329, backed by the AARC and other groups interested in providing clear and consistent pulmonary rehabilitation reimbursement guidelines under Medicare.

The bill would require that Medicare develop one national policy on how it will reimburse for pulmonary rehabilitation services. Currently there are inconsistent reimbursement policies around the country, such that pulmonary rehab is covered fully in some states and not at all in other states.

What follows is an FAQ on this issue, so that you can take action by writing your U.S. Congressional delegation with a better understanding of the issue.

What is S. 329?
It is a bill introduced in the Senate that would require Medicare to develop one national coverage policy for pulmonary rehabilitation services.

Isn’t a similar bill already in Congress called S. 1440?
S. 329 is identical to S. 1440, which had been circulating in Congress. However, S. 1440 “died” at the end of last year because Congress is on a new cycle and, as you will remember from Civics Class, all bills must be reintroduced and begin a fresh process when Congress begins a new session.

Who introduced this bill?
There is a group in Congress known as the U.S. COPD Congressional Caucus. This is a group of Senators and Representatives who are interested in issues surrounding COPD. The co-leaders of that caucus – Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) – introduced this legislation.

I know my Medicare patients get reimbursement for their pulmonary rehabilitation services. What’s the problem?
In some states, Medicare patients do receive reimbursement from Medicare when they participate in pulmonary rehabilitation. In other states, the Medicare contractors (the groups that decide what qualifies and what does not for reimbursement) will not reimburse any pulmonary rehabilitation services.

For many years, the AARC has sought to have Medicare issue one national policy defining coverage criteria and the requirements that must be met for the reimbursement of pulmonary rehabilitation services. If passed, S. 329 would do that.

What can I do?
You can write to your Senators and ask them to support S. 329. You can write to your U.S. Representative and tell him or her to sponsor similar legislation in the House or co-sponsor such legislation when it is introduced in the House.

How do I do this?
AARC has an easy-to-use system called AARC Capitol Connection. Read more about the issue and use the email tools on that site to send an email to your two Senators and your U.S. Representative in the House.

Note: When using AARC Capitol Connection, we have “pre-written” a letter that you can send. However, we strongly encourage you to read and edit that letter to make it more personal.

I don’t do pulmonary rehabilitation, so why should I write?
If you are working in respiratory care, if you are a patient advocate, you have a stake in this. Better health care services for respiratory patients translate into better care for all of our patients. Better reimbursement policies for respiratory care services in one health care settings set the stage for better reimbursement in other settings. This improves our profession.