Tag: Market-pricing program

WASHINGTON - The Senate early on Friday approved the nomination of Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.The Senate voted 52 to 47 to confirm Price, a long-time champion of the HME industry.“Dr. Price has a strong appreciation of the role that home medical equipment providers play in allowing people to remain in their homes when recuperating from an illness or dealing with long-term health changes,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO of AAHomecare,...

WASHINGTON - HME industry stakeholders are hard at work trying to leverage a small victory in their fight against competitive bidding.In December, stakeholders succeeded in getting an amendment in the “doc fix” bill that would require providers to prove they meet licensure requirements before they are allowed to submit bids. But that's a far cry from what they had initially sought.“We'll be pushing to get some of the key components of the market-pricing program into the 'doc fix'...

WASHINGTON - More than a dozen consumer groups are throwing their support behind H. R. 1717, a bill to replace competitive bidding with a market-pricing program (MPP), according to AAHomecare. The groups are lining up to sign a letter from United Spinal Association endorsing the bill. The letter began circulating on May 20, just as stakeholders hit the Hill as part of the AAHomecare Washington Legislative Conference. “When you call or email your members of Congress, make sure they know that...

WASHINGTON - H.R. 1717 remains the HME industry's No. 1 priority, but with time running out, stakeholders are again pressing for a delay in the July 1 start date of Round 2 of competitive bidding.The basis for that delay: a growing list of contract suppliers that appear to fail to meet various licensure or accreditation requirements in accordance with CMS's own bidding rules, they say.“This is raising significant issues about the process that CMS used to apply due diligence to complete...

BALTIMORE - Industry stakeholders believe CMS may have shot itself in the other foot when it released the names of the 799 suppliers who won 13,126 contracts as part of Round 2 of competitive bidding.“There are glaring problems with this list,” said Wayne Stanfield, president and CEO of NAIMES. “CMS has failed on every level: They have selected unqualified companies; they have given hundreds of contracts to suppliers that have no ability to fulfill them. It goes on and on.”The...

WASHINGTON - With a new bill for the market-pricing program (MPP) expected to drop soon, industry stakeholders are mulling another legislative tactic in the fight against competitive bidding: a delay in the implementation of Round 2.Congress has mandated CMS to implement Round 2 in 2013—but not necessarily on July 1. Stakeholders are working with members of Congress to create legislation that would delay the program's start date until the end of the year.“We're using this delay as a tactic...

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan letter to CMS led by Tom Price, R-Ga., and co-signed by 100 U.S. representatives, is calling into question the competitive bidding program, according to an AMEPA newsletter. Largely in response to editorials published in the Washington Post and USA Today, which both supported competitive bidding, the letter addresses severe cuts in Round 2 of the program, potential negative consequences for patient access, and the lack of transparency on the part of CMS. In the letter, lawmakers...

WASHINGTON - A pair of planned Hill briefings and a “Dear Colleague” letter are turning up the heat on the HME industry's fight against competitive bidding.The briefings, scheduled for March 14, will give stakeholders another chance to make their case against the competitive bidding program.“This is an opportunity to educate members of Congress and their staff on the program and the problems identified with Round 2,” said Seth Johnson, vice president of government affairs...

WASHINGTON - With Round 2 inching closer, HME industry stakeholders last week trekked to Washington, D.C., to talk up competitive bidding's flaws and the market-pricing program (MPP).“It's an uphill fight, but the response we got from every meeting was very positive,” said Wayne Stanfield, president and CEO of NAIMES, which spearheaded the event. “Many of the people I spoke with are not happy with what CMS is doing and how it's doing it.”Industry stakeholders conducted about...

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Just months after a group of company execs bought Liberty Medical from its parent company, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Feb. 15, according to news reports. In its filing, Liberty Medical cites between $100 million and $500 million in both assets and liabilities, and between 1,000 and 5,000 employees. It lists several unsecured creditors with disputed claims, including CGS Administrators, a Medicare claims processor, for $137.2 million; and its former owner Medco...