Preserving Patient Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospitals and Elimination of the 75% Rule

• Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation Thanks Senators for Co-sponsorship, 75% Rule Progress (New!)
  
  
• Letter to Representative Nelson in Support of S. 543 and HR 1459
  

Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation Thanks Senators for Co-sponsorship, 75% Rule Progress

January 14, 2008
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators:

On behalf of the Coalition to Preserve Rehabilitation (CPR), we write to thank you once again for your cosponsorship of S.543, the Preserving Patient Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospitals Act, and your successful efforts to include the provisions of S. 543 in the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007. CPR is a coalition of national consumer, clinician, and membership organizations with the goal of preserving access to appropriate rehabilitation services so that individuals with disabilities, injuries, or chronic conditions may regain and/or maintain their maximum level of independent function. 

As you know, the implementation of Medicare’s 75% Rule was having the effect of restricting access to vital inpatient rehabilitation care for many individuals with disabilities, injuries and chronic conditions. By permanently freezing the 75% Rule at the 60% level, as well as continuing current treatment of comorbid conditions for purposes of meeting the 60% threshold, Congress has helped ensure that individuals have access to appropriate rehabilitation services and, thus, access to independent living.

Additionally, the recently enacted legislation requires that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) study beneficiary access to inpatient rehabilitation services and make recommendations for classifying inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units. CPR applauds this provision and looks forward to working with you and the Administration in undertaking this research.  

Again, we graciously thank you for your efforts on behalf of individuals with disabilities, injuries, and chronic conditions to ensure access to appropriate healthcare that will enable them to regain their independence and return to their communities alongside family, friends, and neighbors.

Sincerely,

The CPR Steering Committee

Andy Imparato                                                                                   Marcie Roth
American Association of People with Disabilities                     National Spinal Cord Injury Association

John Lancaster                                                                                 Judith Stein
National Council on Independent Living                                     Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.

Letter to Representative Nelson in Support of S. 543 and HR 1459

June 18, 2007

The Honorable Ben Nelson
United States Senate
The Honorable John Tanner
House of Representatives
Washington, DC. 20515

Dear Senator Nelson and Representative Tanner:

The National Council on Independent Living is writing today in support of S. 543 and HR 1459  “Preserving Patient Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospitals Act of 2007.”

The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is the oldest cross disability, grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. Founded in 1982, NCIL represents over 700 organizations and individuals including: Centers for Independent Living (CILs), Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs), individuals with disabilities, and other organizations that advocate for the human and civil rights of people with disabilities throughout the United States.

The determination of one’s rehabilitative needs is an extremely personal process involving the individual, their family, and their team of rehabilitation doctors and other clinicians.  It is not a decision that should be dictated by a government policy based on an individual’s diagnosis alone. By basing admission solely on an individual’s diagnoses, rather than his/her specific medical and rehabilitation needs, the 75% Rule threatens access to care for those requiring intensive rehabilitation, including transplant patients, cardiac patients, and others, whose condition may not satisfy the rule. It is basically a quota system that arbitrarily determines who can and cannot receive inpatient rehabilitation care based simply on one’s medical diagnosis and the time of admission.

Congress must do something to stop the 75% Percent Rule from further eroding fair access to inpatient rehabilitation care.  Inpatient Rehab is the first step to independent living and without the proper training many never achieve true independence. Thank you for doing everything you can to ensure that people with disabilities receive appropriate health care for their individual and unique needs. If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Leef at 202-207-0334 in the NCIL office in Washington DC.

Sincerely,

Kelly Buckland                           John A. Lancaster