Tag: Bid Relief
In brief: Bid language moves, AdaptHealth gets sued, NC DME wins
November 3, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Language that would extend the 75/25 blended Medicare reimbursement rate in non-bid areas through 2024 is included in a draft of omnibus health care legislation in advance of a Senate Finance Committee mark-up session that could take place as early as this week.
Inclusion in this initial draft of legislative language to be considered by the committee does not guarantee the 75/25 provisions from S. 1294 will, ultimately, pass into law, but it's a significant step...
Bid relief languages takes ‘significant step forward’
November 2, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Language that would extend the 75/25 blended Medicare reimbursement rate in non-bid areas through 2024 is included a draft of omnibus health care legislation in advance of a Senate Finance Committee mark-up session that could take place as early as next week.
Inclusion in this initial draft of legislative language to be considered by the committee does not guarantee the 75/25 provisions from S. 1294 will, ultimately, pass into law, but it's a significant step forward...
Bid relief bill drops ahead of Legislative Conference
September 19, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., have introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would provide a 90/10 blended Medicare reimbursement rate for most home medical equipment products in competitive bidding areas for all of 2024.
The DMEPOS Relief Act of 2023 (H.R. 5555) would also extend the current 75/25 blended rate currently in effect in rural/non-CBA areas through 2024.
“This legislation provides a long-overdue relief...
Walk the talk
January 16, 2023Liz Beaulieu, Editor
There’s been a lot of talk about the increased appreciation for home care due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
And now we’re seeing lawmakers walk the talk.
The omnibus bill they passed in December included not one but a handful of provisions that impact the HME industry:
An extension of the 75/25 blended Medicare reimbursement rate in non-competitive bidding/non-rural areas through the end of the public health emergency or Dec. 31, 2023, whichever is later.
A delay of the...
Industry seeks to fast-track reimbursement relief
February 11, 2022Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – A new bill in the House of Representatives gives the HME industry a “one-two punch” to get reimbursement relief passed through Congress potentially in March.
The DMEPOS Relief Act, introduced Feb. 8 by Reps. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., would implement a blended reimbursement rate in competitive bidding areas based 90% on bid pricing and 10% on the 2015 fee schedule, representing about a 10% to 15% increase, to help address rising...
Chip, chip, chip
September 18, 2020Liz Beaulieu, Editor
Earlier this month, Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty and I were trying to piece together the latest developments in reimbursement relief and we were both getting pretty frustrated.
AAHomecare announced recently that the industry's champions in the House of Representatives had introduced H.R. 8158, a bill that would eliminate the budget neutrality requirement for home oxygen therapy. The association says the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested that the provision be peeled away from...
AAH: There's still time for permanent bid relief
August 13, 2020HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The HME industry's champions in the House of Representatives have indicated that they're still invested in securing permanent relief for rural and other non-bid suppliers, AAHomecare says. The champions are also invested in eliminating the oxygen budget neutrality requirement that's impacting reimbursement in rural areas, according to the association. “The lead sponsors for (H.R. 2771) have suggested that building additional co-sponsor support for (the bill) will increase prospects...
HME champions win re-election
November 7, 2018HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - A number of champions for the HME industry, including Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., have won their re-election bids in Congress.
McMorris-Rodgers, who bested her Democratic contender Lisa Brown, has led a number of efforts to provide relief from Medicare's competitive bidding program, including introducing H.R. 4229, which has 157 co-sponsors. She has also spearheaded a number of congressional sign-on letters to CMS requesting relief.
A number of champions for complex...
Washington update: Rule moves closer to reality, but agenda remains long
October 16, 2018Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
ATLANTA - CMS's final rule with significant changes to the competitive bidding program has moved to the Office of Management and Budget for clearance, Tom Ryan told Medtrade attendees at Tuesday morning's AAHomecare Washington Update.“That's breaking news,” said Ryan, president and CEO, who learned of the development as the session was drawing to a close.Stakeholders expect the final rule to be published in November. An earlier proposed rule received 514 comments by its Sept. 10 deadline.“That's...
Stakeholders pressure CMS with two letters
October 5, 2018Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - A groundswell of grassroots support carried a pair of bid-related sign-on letters over the finish line last week, say industry stakeholders.The final tally: 138 signatures on the letter in the House of Representatives, spearheaded by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.; and 32 signatures on the letter in the Senate, spearheaded by Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.“Every office we walked into had heard from state leaders and providers,” said Tom Ryan, president...