Industry priorities ‘in the mix’ 

• Congress must pass legislation to continue funding the government before the end of the year. 
• Stakeholders have been asking lawmakers to include any of a handful of priorities in their legislation, but most importantly reimbursement relief. 
• Industry’s key piece of legislation, H.R. 6641, currently has 26 co-sponsors. 

WASHINGTON – Stakeholders are working down to the wire to get industry priorities included in any end-of-year spending packages that Congress takes up before they break for the holidays. 

AAHomecare’s Tom Ryan and Jay Witter spent two days on Capitol Hill the week of Dec. 5 meeting with key members of the committees of jurisdiction, as well as Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who has spearheaded the industry’s key piece of legislation, H.R. 6641, which would implement a blended reimbursement rate in competitive bidding areas based 90% on bid pricing and 10% on the 2015 fee schedule. 

“The timing was perfect,” said Ryan, president and CEO. “We’re all waiting with bated breath to determine what’s going to be the play at the end of the year.” 

In addition to H.R. 6641, other priorities include extending a 75/25 blended rate for non-bid, non-rural areas that’s in place through the end of the public health emergency though the CARES Act, preventing the across-the-board PAYGO Medicare cuts for 2023, and maintaining access for oxygen and CGM patients who qualified for coverage under relaxed criteria during the PHE.  

All eyes are on an omnibus spending bill, but what that will look like is still anybody’s guess, says Ryan. 

“The intel changes daily,” he said. “I remain optimistic that something will get done, but it’s out of our control.” 

One good sign: Over the last several weeks, AAHomecare has held discussions and fielded numerous calls from the offices of lawmakers, says Witter, senior vice president of public policy. 

“I can say we’re definitely in the mix in the House and Senate,” he said. “There’s no guarantee, but our priorities are in the right position.”  

• Read how H.R. 6641 would mean about a 10% to 15% increase to help providers offset rising costs from the pandemic and inflation.