View attachment 443If and Why you SHOULD care!
Bills: H.R. 3306 S 2662 should be on the “tip of your i-phones”
Read these summaries of bills which aim to expand telehealth coverage:
1. Bill H.R. 3306 House of Representatives
Rep. Harper, Gregg [R-MS-3] (Introduced 10/22/2013)
This bill is co-sponsored by 20 members of the House of Representatives.
2. Bill (S 2662) (Senate)
Sen. Cochran, Thad [R-MS] (Introduced 07/24/2014)
Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) (co-sponsor) have introduced a bill that aims to expand the use of telehealth services under federal health programs, The senators said the measure is companion legislation to the House version (HR 3306) that was introduced last year.
3. Read more here:
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/telehealth-bill-may-fix-payment-issues
What you can and should do:
Contact your state representative and thank them for sponsoring or co-sponsoring Bill HR 3306 or ask them to sponsor the bill HR 3306
Contact your two senators and thank them (if you live in Mississippi) or ask them to sponsor Senate Bill: S2662
WHY CARE?
CysticFibrosis.com Healthcare and the US Government Info 101
Cystic Fibrosis needs money for scientific research and development leading to better treatment and even a cure.
The United States Congress and pharmaceutical companies fulfill this need.
The Congress does it through grants from the NIH. $30.1 billion dollars is annually devoted to medical research for the American people.
Fortunately, Francis Collins PhD, heads the NIH and he discovered the CFTR gene.
Congress provides the money for the NIH through various budget bills.
More than 80% of NIH funding is awarded through almost 50,000 competitive grants. The NIH even has its own research campus in Bethesda Maryland, supported by 10% of its budget.
This link should be read to understand how the US passes a bill for anything, including cystic fibrosis.
With the exception of participating in clinical trials, our CF community can most impact how research is funded by knowing and writing to (snail or email), their specific congressional representatives to sponsor bills which affect our CF community.
Everyone has two senators and one representative.
Currently, we should be supporting and asking our representatives (both senators and congressperson) to sponsor the following telemedicine bills which will greatly affect care for CFers in the US.
Telemedicine can be used for such CF symptom measures as:
sugar, respiratory, PFTs, liver enzyme, cardiovascular, infection markers; allowing doctors to assess and get paid, without patients taking long drives to a lab/center and risking exposure to infections and loss of time at work and school.
There are many studies, validating the concept of telemedicine, such as the Johns Hopkins Study and our own study on spirometry.
Bills: H.R. 3306 S 2662 should be on the “tip of your i-phones”
Read these summaries of bills which aim to expand telehealth coverage:
1. Bill H.R. 3306 House of Representatives
Rep. Harper, Gregg [R-MS-3] (Introduced 10/22/2013)
This bill is co-sponsored by 20 members of the House of Representatives.
2. Bill (S 2662) (Senate)
Sen. Cochran, Thad [R-MS] (Introduced 07/24/2014)
Sens. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) (co-sponsor) have introduced a bill that aims to expand the use of telehealth services under federal health programs, The senators said the measure is companion legislation to the House version (HR 3306) that was introduced last year.
3. Read more here:
http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/telehealth-bill-may-fix-payment-issues
What you can and should do:
Contact your state representative and thank them for sponsoring or co-sponsoring Bill HR 3306 or ask them to sponsor the bill HR 3306
Contact your two senators and thank them (if you live in Mississippi) or ask them to sponsor Senate Bill: S2662
WHY CARE?
CysticFibrosis.com Healthcare and the US Government Info 101
Cystic Fibrosis needs money for scientific research and development leading to better treatment and even a cure.
The United States Congress and pharmaceutical companies fulfill this need.
The Congress does it through grants from the NIH. $30.1 billion dollars is annually devoted to medical research for the American people.
Fortunately, Francis Collins PhD, heads the NIH and he discovered the CFTR gene.
Congress provides the money for the NIH through various budget bills.
More than 80% of NIH funding is awarded through almost 50,000 competitive grants. The NIH even has its own research campus in Bethesda Maryland, supported by 10% of its budget.
This link should be read to understand how the US passes a bill for anything, including cystic fibrosis.
With the exception of participating in clinical trials, our CF community can most impact how research is funded by knowing and writing to (snail or email), their specific congressional representatives to sponsor bills which affect our CF community.
Everyone has two senators and one representative.
Currently, we should be supporting and asking our representatives (both senators and congressperson) to sponsor the following telemedicine bills which will greatly affect care for CFers in the US.
Telemedicine can be used for such CF symptom measures as:
sugar, respiratory, PFTs, liver enzyme, cardiovascular, infection markers; allowing doctors to assess and get paid, without patients taking long drives to a lab/center and risking exposure to infections and loss of time at work and school.
There are many studies, validating the concept of telemedicine, such as the Johns Hopkins Study and our own study on spirometry.