Voinovich pushes for HME quality standards
By HME News Staff
Updated Sun July 31, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, urged CMS to address his constituents' concerns about the development of quality standards for HME suppliers in a letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt June 29.
Voinovich relayed provider anxieties that the slow pace of development could hinder supplier attempts to be fully accredited by the time competitive bidding gets underway.
"As you know," Voinovich wrote, "obtaining accreditation status typically takes six to [12] months, and in light of the impending implementation of the competitive acquisition program, my constituents feel CMS must issue the final quality standards this summer."
In the same letter, Voinovich addressed his own concerns about beneficiary access and the livelihood of small businesses under competitive bidding.
In another letter sent to Leavitt the same day, the senator also relayed constituent concerns about the need for more polices and regulations so physicians, clinicians and suppliers could understand PWC NCD.
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