Vermont Dietetic Association

Medicare Bill

Obesity Prevention, Treatment and Research Act

From September, 2008 VDA Newsletter
Sen. Jeff Bingaman’s Obesity Prevention, Treatment and Research Act  is likely to be introduced into committee this week.  The Act is an all encompassing piece of legislation that would provide for research and treatment for persons who are overweight or obese, and for those who are at risk for developing diabetes and other diet related illnesses.  It would authorize Medical Nutrition Therapy in Medicaid and in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.  The bill also would create a U.S. Council on Overweight-Obesity Prevention, which would coordinate various programs and studies already in existence and evaluate their effectiveness.  This group would develop and recommend new strategies addressing overweight and obesity.

The ADA continues to look for support and cosponsors for this bill, and has a goal of at least 25 letters in each senate office.   Please use the Grass Roots manager on the ADA website to send your letters to Senators Leahy and Sanders. If you have already done so, thanks!

 Here’s how to make a difference.  Send a letter to your senators:
  · Open www.eatright.org in Internet Explorer
  · Go to the Advocacy and the Profession page
  · Select “Grassroots Manager” on the left hand side
  · Enter in your ADA member number and password
  · Select the “Take Action” tab
  · Select “Support the Obesity, Prevention and Treatment bill”
  · Chose your Senators
  · The letter will open up, feel free to add in your own personal statements at the beginning or the end of the letter
  · Push “send electronically”

 Thanks for your time and attention to this important matter. Please consider attending the ADA Public Policy Workshop in Washington DC, February 8-10. The work and meetings held on Capitol Hill have an impact on the national level- remember Senator Barack Obama mentioned the role of dietitians in the primary debates- nutrition and health care will remain an important topic for our nation. 

Cathy McIsaac, Public Policy Coordinator

MNT legislation statement- Received September 11, 2008

There has been widespread discussion among RDs whether or not MNT coverage has been expanded as a result of recent legislation. The answer is RDs can't bill Medicare for conditions other than diabetes and kidney disease just yet. The preventive services title (Title 1), which goes into effect January 2009, establishes a procedure by which Medicare may expand coverage of preventive services, including MNT. In order for MNT to be expanded Title 1 needs to gain approval via a number of steps. Therefore, RDs interested in expanding their practice should note that at this time it is not known what new services will be covered when the bill goes into effect next year. In addition, at this time no new services can be billed to Medicare.

Laura Biron,  VDA Reimbursement Representative

Action Alert: MNT Bill- eBlast sent September 11, 2008

The bill being proposed would include coverage for MNT for obesity and pre-diabetes for federally-funded programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the SCHIP programs. We are being asked to contact our senators to request that they become co-sponsors of the bill. It is very quick and easy to use the "Grassroots Manager" on the ADA web page. Please take a few minutes to act!
ADA to Grassroots link   
Thanks,
Cathy McIsaac, Public Policy Coordinator

We did it! Our voice in Washington was heard!

On July 15th,  the U.S. House of Representatives voted 383-41 and the Senate voted 70-26 to override the President's veto of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (HR 6331). This is huge news that we have been waiting for- the expansion of covered services under Medicare.

There are two titles of the legislation that impact RDs. For RDs that are Medicare providers, the 10% rate cut that was to go into effect July 1 has been replaced with a 1.1% rate increase. The bill also contains a title on preventative services which would allow for the expansion of MNT by RDs. It does not specifically list the new preventative services, rather creates a process by which new preventative services would be included in Medicare. The bill outlines these services to be those not otherwise covered, reasonable and necessary, and recommended by the US Preventative Services Task Force. Based on this, it is likely that MNT for hyperlipidemias will be included. The regulations for this part of the bill have yet to be worked out, but ADA's approach with CMS will likely be that medically necessary nutrition therapy recommended by physician be covered. This title is to go into effect in January, 2009. Again, stay tuned as the regulations develop.

Please click on this slide presentation regarding the legislation.

The Public Policy Workshop will be February 8-10, 2008 in Washington, DC. It is an excellent opportunity learn about and participate in the policy development that affects our profession. The more that participate, the louder our voices are!

Happy Summer-

Cathy McIsaac, MS, RD
VDA PPC