LNC

Legislative Network Coordinator Report
Marisue Smith
LNC Chair

VICTORY!!

Congress passes landmark legislation to provide Medicare MNT coverage On Friday, December 15, 2000, in one of the final acts of the 106th Congress, the House and Senate approved legislation that will for the first time provide Medicare beneficiaries with access to medical nutrition therapy (MNT) services by registered dietitians. The new benefit is targeted at individuals with diabetes or a renal disease (pre-dialysis) and will go into effect January 1, 2002.

The MNT benefit was included in a $35 billion package of Medicare revisions, H.R. 5661, that was passed as part a larger omnibus bill, H.R. 4577. The omnibus legislation included appropriations and other unrelated legislation.
It passed the House 292-60 and the Senate by voice vote. The full Medicare bill can be viewed at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/fullcomm/106cong/bbafix/hr5661.pdf .

The legislation defines MNT as nutritional diagnostic, therapy and counseling services for the purpose of disease management which are furnished by a registered dietitian or nutrition professional. Payment would be made at the lesser of the actual charge for the service or 85% of the amount that would be paid under the physician fee schedule if such services were provided by a physician. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is also required to submit a report to Congress by July 1, 2003 with recommendations regarding the expansion of the MNT benefit to other disease states.

ADA's MNT efforts will now focus on the regulatory process as the Health Care Financing Administration develops rules to implement the new Medicare benefit. Additionally, activity will continue on the legislative front to expand the MNT benefit to cover other disease conditions like cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis and HIV/AIDS.

Questions can be directed to [email protected].

Note from Marisue Smith: Anyone interested in the position of �LNC-in-Training� or �Legislative LNC wannabe�, should contact Marisue ASAP about going to the Legislative Symposium in March.

It's official, President signs Medicare MNT legislation

President Clinton signed legislation yesterday that includes the provision creating a new Medicare MNT benefit for patients with diabetes or kidney disease (pre-dialysis). The MNT benefit was part of a package of Medicare provisions (H.R. 5661) that was incorporated into a massive 40,000-page
omnibus bill (H.R. 4577) Congress approved a week ago. The Medicare provisions can be viewed at:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c106:H.R.5661:.

In a Dec. 18 statement (http://www.eatright.org/gov/121800.html), ADA President Jane White acknowledged the tangible importance of the MNT victory, "As we consider the significance of this victory, we can say without reservation that our work to bring recognition to dietetic professionals working in all settings is producing results. The ability of dietetic professionals to serve in the food and health care systems is growing in meaningful ways."

With Clinton's signature, the implementation process for the MNT benefit has begun. The ADA will work with the Health Care Financing Administration as it develops rules to govern the application of the benefit before the Jan. 1, 2002 start date. This process will determine payment levels, provider
qualifications and other coverage details.

Additionally, ADA will continue to advocate that Congress expand the MNT benefit to cover cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, HIV-AIDS and other conditions.