The Honorable (Name of Your Rep.)

May 20, 2009

The Honorable (Name of your Rep.) Building Address Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman (woman) Last Name:

On behalf of Company Name and the oxygen patients who rely upon our services, I am writing to ask that you cosponsor H.R. 2373, The Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act of 2009. Introduced on May 12 by Congressmen Tom Price, M.D. (R-Ga..) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), The HOPP Act will directly repeal the cap on home oxygen therapy rental payments for Medicare patients and restore the benefit to provide payments for the period of medical need.

As you are likely aware, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) included a provision that capped Medicare rental payments for oxygen therapy after 36 months of continuous use and transferred ownership of the equipment from the provider to the patient. Because of the number of concerns about patient-safety issues, Congress repealed the transfer of ownership in the Medicare Improvement for Patient and Provider Act of 2008 (MIPPA) and instructed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish adequate payments for the continued care of home oxygen patients. However, CMS’ current rule, CMS-1403-FC, did not establish payments, resulting in unnecessary complications for beneficiaries on home oxygen therapy, hospitals trying to discharge patients, and small-business oxygen providers across the United States.

As an original sponsor of The HOPP Act of 2009 (H.R. 2373), Congressman Price stated, “The 36-month cap seriously jeopardizes the quality of care that oxygen patients receive by cutting Medicare funding to oxygen providers after the initial three-year coverage period. Oxygen is essentially a prescription drug and should be administered by a trained professional, but [providers] have little incentive to do so, though they’re still required to, since there is no funding in place after 36 months.”

H.R. 2373 is similar to The HOPP Act of 2007 (H.R. 621), which was introduced by Congressman Price in the 110th Congress and attracted 143 cosponsors. Like its predecessor, H.R. 2373 would repeal the 36-month rental cap on oxygen therapy by restoring payments for the period of medical need.

We request that you support The HOPP Act of 2009. (NOTE: If your rep. cosponsored H.R. 621, be sure to indicate that he/she supported The HOPP Act in the 110th Congress.) Please contact either Ms. Emily Henehan in Congressman Price’s office at 202-225-4501 or Ms. Erin Doty in Congressman Shuler’s office at 202-225-6401.

Congressman (woman), I thank you for your time and consideration of our request. For your reference, I have included the text of H.R. 2373. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx or [email protected].

Sincerely,

Full Name Position Company