Reply #23: I can't believe they would discontinue therapy for these people.

[madfloridian]

"SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, pulmonary fibrosis (PF) patient Ellen Foley went to the pulmonary rehabilitation (rehab) program near her home in Middlesex, N.C. At the same time, the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) took a stand for her and thousands of patients like her. Soon, Foley may not be able to go to therapy if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) are successful in pushing forward a proposed ruling regarding pulmonary rehabilitation coverage that would limit coverage and eliminate patients with diseases like Foley's. PF has no treatments and no cure and is a disease that scars the lungs and suffocates its victims. It is almost invariably fatal. Most patients live less than three years and the only affective therapy to help them is pulmonary rehab.

The CMS proposed ruling states "because there is not data to substantiate significantly improved outcomes for any other medical conditions, we are proposing to allow moderate to severe COPD as the only covered condition." There is, in fact, substantial evidence that there is significant benefit to PF patients and patients with other respiratory diseases."