Our efforts to get Congress involved are working. As we requested, Senators have asked CMS many questions on MIPS. As a result, they are considering a delay, shorter reporting periods, and possibly a pilot testing. This is good news. We will continue to work on it and ultimately hopefully we will repeal it. However, things are not yet settled - we still have a lot more work to do.

  

Thus, we are planning our Legislative Session and Capitol Hill visits for September 6-8. We ask that everyone arrives on Tuesday, Sept. 6 by 5 pm for a dinner meeting to prepare for the next day. On Wednesday, Sept. 7 we will go to Capitol Hill as a group. As in the past, we will have breakfast and hear talks from various senators and representatives in the morning. Our appointments will be made for the afternoon and possibly some on Thursday morning. If you can stay through until Thursday that would be best but if you need to leave on Wednesday, please book a late flight so that you can make it to all of your appointments.

  

If you have not already done so, please RSVP so that our lobbyist can begin making the appointments. I've attached the list of key officials that we need to meet. We must have members for each of these states in order to get appointments. In addition to attending, please encourage others to attend as well.

  

  

While many of the members and committees are important, we are specifically focusing on the following senators and members. Click here for the list.

 

Please let us know as soon as possible if you will be attending so that we can begin making the appointments. Contact Melinda Martin at [email protected] to RSVP.

 Good news! The Senate approved the bill on Wednesday to tackle the nation's opioid crisis, sending to the president's desk the most sweeping drug legislation in years in a rare instance of consensus in Congress.

The measure, which passed, 92 to 2, would strengthen prevention, treatment and recovery efforts, largely by empowering medical professionals and law enforcement officials with more tools to help drug addicts. It would also expand access to a drug that emergency medical workers could use to help reverse overdoses and improve treatment for the incarcerated. President Obama is expected to sign the bill.   

As a result, the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Reauthorization Act (NASPER) has been extended through FY2020 and authorizes funding for $10 million per year