Thursday September 9, 2010
 
NRAA Corporate Sponsors

Members are urged to take immediate action to contact your Senators and Representatives to express your concerns with the proposed bundle payment system. Click here for a CapWiz template that you can send to your elected officials.

Ask your Congressional Representatives to urge CMS for fair and even-handed treatment for SDO's in implementing CROWNWeb. Click here for a template letter to send using Capwiz.

Ask your Senators to urge CMS for fair and even-handed treatment for SDO's in implementing CROWNWeb. Click here for a template letter to send using CapWiz.

Click here for a detailed summary of ESRD Provisions and the House CHAMP Act.

Important!  Contact members of  the House of Representaives to urge fair treatment for dialysis providers and medicare bills.   

cClick here for CapWiz letter that you can use as a template when sending a letter or e-mail.

Important!  Contact members of the Senate Finance Committee to urge fair treatment for dialysis providers and

Click here for CapWiz letter that you can use as a template when sending a letter or e-mail.  
Click here for list of talking points when calling Committee members.

Legislators introduce Kidney Care Quality & Education Act 2007
 Legislators in the House and Senate have introduced the Kidney Care Quality & Education Act of 2007, an updated version of a similar bill introduced in 2005 but with some key changes advocated by NRAA and other renal industry lobbying groups.

Senate bill 691 was introduced on Feb. 27; HR 1193 was introduced on the same day. The major changes from the 2005 legislation include:
  a three-year quality improvement initiative during which providers would get a payment update based on reporting outcomes in the first year, and achieving and maintaining outcome parameters in the second two years.
  extending the Medicare secondary payer provision, now at 30 months, by 12 months (President Bush has proposed a 30-month extension in his FY 2008 budget to help cover program cuts to Medicare and Medicaid).
For a sample document to post in your facility explaining the new act to patients and staff please see NRAA Report 593

Click here for a summary of the bill.
For a copy of the H.R. 1193 see NRAA Report 591 and NRAA Report 592 for S691.
To view the current cosponsor status click here.

Use our Capwiz™ program to write to your Legislators to urge support of the ESRD Medicare Program.
Use the icon below to go to the Capwiz™ page.

MedPAC recommends a Composite Rate increase of 1.2% for 2008
The MedPAC March Report includes two recommendations for ESRD services. The first is that Congress update the composite rate in 2008 by 1.2%, which is the projected change in input prices less MedPAC's expectation for productivity growth. Second, MedPAC recommended that Congress broaden the payment bundle to modernize the dialysis payment system.

The dialysis section thel report is available in the Members Only section of the NRAA website as NRAA Report #590.

Note: NRAA Reports are located in the Members Only Section


NRAA's CapWiz Legislative Advocacy Program
You can become involved in our grassroots campaign by using our Capwiz™ Advocacy Program

To use the NRAA grassroots communications program, simply: Go to http://capwiz.com/nraa/home/  

  • Click on the Action Alert box
  • Make sure to repeat the process for each version of the bill or legislative action you are contacting them about, one for the House and one for the Senate.
  • Decide if you want to email the letter or print a copy to be faxed.
  • Fill in the requested information (do this multiple times if you have more than one facility)
    • Name, address, email address, be sure to add your zip code, as this will allow the system to find your U.S. Representative (for each facility, enter the zip code of the facility)
  • You may edit the message to allow for any personal stories or specific facility information, or you can leave the message as is.  Please make sure to keep the title of the bill and the bill number in the letter or legislative action you asking them to act upon. 
  •  After you hit "send message" a listing of your U.S Representative and Senators will appear.
  • Please choose Health Care or its likeness as your subject matter in the drop down boxes for each official.
  • Enter any other required information.
    Email option
  • If you have chosen the option to email, please hit the button to send the letter.
  •  Please check the box to send a copy to the NRAA.
    Printed option
  • If you have chosen the printing option, make sure all appropriate officials are selected.
  •  Choose the format you would like the letter to print in (word processor, text, or html).
  • Print the letter and fax it to your legislators office. (mailed letters take 3-4 weeks due to restrictions imposed from 9/11).
  • Please send a copy of your letter to the NRAA's Legislative Office, Attn: Jerry Klepner at:
    BKSH & Associates
    1110 Vermont Avenue, NW
    Tenth Floor
    Washington, D.C. 20005
    Tel: 202 530 0500
    Fax: 202 530 4800
    Email: bksh@nraa.org

Your participation and that of your colleagues is crucial to the success of any legislative efforts. 

To locate your senators or representative use our Capwiz™ program and just enter your zip code in the box in the Congress & President section of the Capwiz home page.

A credible advocate and resource for all Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) providers through legislation, regulation and education.
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