ALS Organizations Urge Congress to Pass ALS Better Care Act to Address Medicare Reimbursement Shortfalls
ALS organizations are urging Congress to pass the ALS Better Care Act (S.3763/H.R. 7336). This legislation aims to provide a modest, supplemental, facility-based payment to bridge the shortfall of Medicare reimbursement for multidisciplinary care for individuals living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The letter, addressed to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, highlights that ALS is a devastating, progressive neurological disease with no cure and limited treatments. People with ALS progressively lose the ability to move, swallow, and breathe, eventually becoming paralyzed. Multidisciplinary care, provided by specialized ALS clinics, includes various medical professionals and therapies, and has been shown to improve quality of life and survival. However, Medicare's inadequate reimbursement forces many ALS centers to cut services, serve fewer patients, or rely on philanthropic support,...
