June 6, 2008
ACTION ALERT: TELL CONGRESS TO KEEP MORATORIUM ON ALL CMS REGULATIONS!
case management
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Rep. Obey needs to make sure Medicaid case management funding continues |
Earlier this spring, both the House and Senate voted by veto-proof margins to delay seven harmful Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) rules until April 2009. But now in an attempt to save a few dollars, Congress—led by House appropriations chair Rep Dave Obey (D-WI)—is considering changes that would only impose the delay of implementation of some, not all, of the regulations, and targeted case management would be on the chopping block. One of the many negative effects of this is that COBRA case management would be completely gutted. Since COBRA, which provide crucial psychosocial case management for low-income people living with AIDS and HIV, hasn't seen a rate increase in more than a decade, most COBRA programs are already in deficit.
Contact our representatives today and tell them to make sure CMS keeps all Medicaid regulations in place. Along with case management on the chopping block are certain essential services provided in outpatient settings, such as vision screening, administration of vaccinations and rehabilitation services, as well as the state's ability to levy taxes on health care providers as a way to finance Medicaid programs.
To call your representatives, call the Congressional switchboard at 800-828-0498 or 202-225-3121. To find out who your representative is go to house.gov.
Ask to speak to the staffer who deals with health and tell that person, "Please keep all of the CMS moratorium in place and make sure that targeted case management is not cut during the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services cost-shifting."