Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2005

Mr. Speaker, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, is the number four killer in the United States, and it is the only condition in the top ten where deaths are increasing annually. Analysts predict it will move into the number three position within the next decade. But through pulmonary rehabilitation, doctors and health care providers are saving lives. This treatment is covered by Medicare, but confusion in the regulation denies many people the opportunity for this life-saving and life-extending treatment.

As far back as 1981, the Health Care Financing Administration, now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, recognized the importance of pulmonary rehabilitation and readily acknowledged it was a covered service under Medicare. But in the past 25 years, the Medicare program has not published a policy for coverage of pulmonary rehabilitation services, letting local Medicare contractors decide how best to cover the service. So in some parts of the United States, Medicare beneficiaries have no access to pulmonary rehabilitation because local Medicare contractors have no defined policy for coverage.

So, today I introduce the Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2006, a companion bill to S. 1440 introduced by Senators Mike Crapo and Blanche Lincoln. I am pleased to be joined by my colleague John Lewis as a cosponsor of this reform legislation. This legislation clarifies Medicare language to establish a specific benefit category for pulmonary rehabilitation services.

Organizations such as the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Thoracic Society, the National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care, the American Association of Respiratory Care and the American Hospital Association have all signaled their support for this reform.

Heart disease, along with other cardiovascular diseases, is the number one killer in the United States. So in addition to establishing a specific benefit category for pulmonary rehabilitation, this legislation would do the same for cardiac rehabilitation services. I commend CMS for taking action on cardiac rehabilitation and proposing a National Coverage Decision in December 2005. This bill would give legislative certainty and clarity to that action.

Because CMS agrees that cardiac rehabilitation is an important covered service, there is no cost associated with these provisions of the bill. The costs associated with the pulmonary rehabilitation section are currently being scored by the Congressional Budget Office and are expected to be minimal.

My mother recently experienced firsthand the benefits of these rehabilitation services at South Central Regional Medical Center in my hometown of Laurel, Mississippi. I hope this legislation will provide others around the country with the same health care opportunities that have so benefited my mother. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.