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USE BUSINESS LETTERHEAD, OR INSERT YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE

MONTH NN, 2007

The Honorable FIRST & LAST NAME OF SENATOR

United States Senate

BUILDING NAME OF OFFICE—OBTAIN FROM

Washington, DC ZIP-CODE—OBTAIN FROM

Re: Support Medicare Benefit for Home Infusion Therapy

Dear Senator LAST NAME OF SENATOR:

As a health care provider and your constituent, I would like to call to your attention a glaring and unintended gap in coverage under Medicare Part D as Congress is working to correct problems faced by Medicare beneficiaries in obtaining the care they need. The solution is straightforward, and I ask you to urge your colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee to address the home infusion therapy issue when the committee drafts its Medicare proposal.

Patients with cancer, serious infections, and other conditions often need treatment that involves the infusion of drugs directly into the bloodstream via a needle or catheter. Unlike treatment that simply involves taking a pill, infusion therapy requires specialized services, equipment, supplies, and monitoring. Decades ago, infusion could only be provided in a hospital. For the past twenty years, however, patients with private insurance have received infusion therapy in the home with outstanding results and at much lower cost. The same is true for beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans.

INSERT HERE: In your own words, we encourage you to briefly describe your organization and include the number of employees by inserting 1-2 sentences between the 2nd and 3rd paragraph. Include that you service Medicare patients within the Representative's district. Other customization can be effective, such as relaying stories about patient frustrations due to lack of meaningful coverage.

Unfortunately, home infusion therapy is not an option for beneficiaries in traditional Medicare. The reason? While infusion drugs are covered under Medicare Part D, the program does NOT pay for the services, equipment, and supplies necessary to safely administer infusion therapy in the home. The result is that Medicare beneficiaries are being forced into hospitals and nursing homes for treatment. By paying for infusion in the most expensive settings, Medicare is spending money unnecessarily, causing beneficiaries to endure significant inconvenience, and increasing the very real risk of costly and potentially deadly hospital-acquired infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that in American hospitals that health care-associated infections account for an estimated 1.7 million infections and 99,000 associated deaths each year.

In an effort to fix this problem, a bipartisan group of Representatives, led by Reps. Eliot Engel and Kay Granger, have introduced H.R. 2567. This bill would cover the infusion-related professional services, equipment, and supplies under Medicare Part B. Coverage of infusion drugs would remain unchanged in Part D. If enacted, this legislation would provide Medicare beneficiaries with access to the treatment they need and where they prefer to receive it. And, it would enable the Medicare program to realize the savings and efficiencies that private health plans have taken advantage of for years.

The Senate should consider adding this language to the Medicare package it is putting together. I hope I can count on your support and assistance in making meaningful coverage in Medicare for home infusion therapy a reality for our nation's senior and disabled citizens.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

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