IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED!!!!!

[Guest guest]

We need your help on this. HBOT approval is just around the corner

for brain injury. We must act on this at once!!!

Hartsoe

IMMEDIATE CALL FOR ACTION FROM

THE INTERNATIONAL HYPERBARIC MEDICAL ASSOCIATION!

CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND U.S. SENATORS

TELL THEM TO COSPONSOR H.R. 3351 and H.R. 3360 OR S. 1707 and S. 1745

TODAY!!

CALL THE WASHINGTON D.C. SWITCHBOARD AT

Ask for your Congress Member and when you reach their office, ask for

the Healthcare L.A.

We Need to Preserve Our Nation's Hyperbaric Medicine

Treatment Funding!!!

Dear Friends of Hyperbaric Medicine:

December 7, 2001

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a

new administrative rule that lists reduced reimbursement rates for a

number of medical treatments. Changes affecting Hyperbaric Oxygen

Therapy are among the more than 60 pages of code listings. These

changes would pay the full rate for the first unit treatment and only

½ price for subsequent unit. This is a 33% cut for a standard

Hyperbaric treatment!

If this rule is allowed to stand, it would hurt to our cause.

State Medicaid boards and many insurance companies would adopt this

lower reimbursement rate as the standard. Especially now, when we are

poised to win the battle and have treatment for many conditions

covered by insurance, including chronic neurological injuries, this

reimbursement standard should not go into effect! Even though

reimbursement would be approved, it would be too low to allow for

treatment with proper medical supervision within the heath care system

guidelines. This would seriously limit the availability of care.

We are not in this fight alone. Right now, the American

Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, and many

others are calling for a delay in this new administrative ruling.

Timing is crucial because Congress is wrapping up its legislative

business within a matter of days. Current plans include adding this

legislation to the economic stimulus package or an omnibus

appropriations bill. Unless it is stopped, this new reimbursement

rule becomes effective January 1, 2002.

When you call, you should give your name, address and phone

number. Only call your own Members of Congress and State Senators!

It does not do any good to call Members who do not represent you in

Congress. You should also e-mail your respective members, since the

Capitol in Washington is not receiving regular mail due to the Anthrax

threat. The House of Representatives can be accessed at www.house.gov

and the Senate at www.senate.gov. Follow the prompt to contact your

specific Member. A fax number may also be available on your Member's

web site.

The IHMA plans to fax an endorsement letter from the House and

Senate sponsors of the legislation (Representative Bilirakis for H.R.

3351 and Senator Jeffords for S. 1707) for the physician payment

portion. Representative Deal (H.R. 3360) and Senator Blanch Lincoln

(S. 1745) are receiving a letter on the hospital/outpatient payments.

I strongly encourage the other groups involved with Hyperbaric

Medicine to send letters also. Individual clinics should call their

own Members in the House and Senate, and encourage their patients to

do the same.

For further information about this legislation, organization

representatives can call Rod Veasey in Deal's office at (202)

226-5281, Fax , or Robbie Kumar in Mr. Bilirakis' Office

at , Fax .

Sincerely,

G. Harch, M.D.

President

International Hyperbaric Medical Association