Update June 24, 2008:

The House of Representatives has passed HR 6331, their version of the Medicare package, which does include the pulmonary rehab language.

Two other important pieces of news to come in the House Medicare bill:

• Competitive bidding has been delayed from its July 1 implementation date.
• The 36-month rent-to-own provision has been repealed.

Here is what needs to happen at this time:

• Continue to contact your Senators and urge them to support the “Medicare Package” that is being worked on in the Senate. These contacts can be e-mail, fax or phone. The Capitol Connection links below are still the easiest way to make contact.
• Continue to monitor the AARC website for updates on how things are going. We fully expect there to be a vote in the Senate on a Medicare Package and then the need to negotiate one common bill between the House and Senate. We need to ensure pulmonary rehab and other important provisions remain in the final legislation.