Tag: Relief
Stakeholders hit the ground running with new bill
September 22, 2023Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – The HME industry needs to be “prepared for anything,” stakeholders say, to get reimbursement relief in place for 2024.
Stakeholders converged virtually on Capitol Hill on Sept. 20 as part of AAHomecare’s Washington Legislative Conference to push the DMEPOS Relief Act of 2023 (H.R. 5555), a bill that would provide a 90/10 blended Medicare reimbursement rate for most home medical equipment products in competitive bidding areas for all of 2024 and extend...
COVID-19 relief passes with oxygen, sequester relief
December 21, 2020HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – A COVID-19 relief package passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate removes the budget neutrality requirement for oxygen products in rural areas, AAHomecare reports.
“We’re gratified to see that Congress has finally fixed the oxygen budget neutrality issue unfairly impacting rural suppliers,” said Tom Ryan, AAHomecare president and CEO. “HME stakeholders have been asking...
HHS reopens relief funding
August 4, 2020HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The Department of Health and Human Services has reopened applications for Medicare-based relief funding and extended the application deadline for Medicaid-based relief, according to AAHomecare.
The news is especially welcome for providers that did not apply for the $20 billing Tranche 2 funding from the Medicare-based relief fund, the association says.
“We heard from HME suppliers who were excluded from substantial Medicaid-based relief and reached out to HHS...
AAH provides update on Tricare and COVID-19 relief
June 30, 2020HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Tricare East contractor Human Military loaded new reimbursement rates authorized by the CARES Act into their system on June 3, according to AAHomecare. Claims from that day forward should reflect the new rates. Humana Military is now working on adjustments retroactive to the start date for the act. AAHomecare has reached out to Tricare West contractor HealthNet for an update on its efforts to implement relief provisions in the CARES Act. Tricare has also confirmed that it's waiving cost...
AAH: Updates supplier counts, comments on rural areas
December 6, 2019HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - AAHomecare has found that, while the number of unique companies is down 37% and the number of locations is down 35% since 2010, the data for October 2019 is virtually unchanged from January 2019. The number of unique companies increased from 6,143 to 6,180 and the number of locations from 9,195 to 9,196, according to the association. Go here to see AAHomecare's updated supplier tracking sheet�The association this month responded to the House Ways & Means Committee's request...
Competitive bidding: Stakeholders line up another campaign for relief
May 17, 2019Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - The industry has its marching orders this week, as it heads to Capitol Hill with a long-awaited bill to address Medicare reimbursement cuts for HME.
Specifically, H.R. 2771 would make permanent a 50/50 blended reimbursement rate in rural areas and would introduce a 75/25 rate for non-rural, non-bid areas.
“We worked for the last three years with Congress and the administration to implement relief in non-bid, non-rural areas,” said Jay Witter, senior vice president of...
New bill provides relief to rural areas
May 16, 2019HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - A bill that would preserve access to durable medical equipment, particularly in rural areas, was introduced yesterday in the House of Representatives.
Introduced by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R. Wash., and Dave Loebsack, D. Iowa, the Protecting Home Oxygen & Medical Equipment (HOME) Access Act of 2019, would:
make the 50/50 blended reimbursement rates in rural areas permanent after 2020;
provide additional relief for non-rural, non-bid areas at 75/25 blended rates; and
eliminate...
Stakeholders unpack disappointing final rule
November 2, 2018Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - The lack of substantial changes in the competitive bidding-related final rule likely comes down to cost, say HME industry stakeholders.“The challenge has all along been the cost,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO of AAHomecare. “I think the political appointees at the agency wanted to do more but were restricted by cost. Cost is everything.”The final rule, released Nov. 1, did not include two areas of additional relief requested by the industry: an extension of...
CMS sticks with 'flawed' pricing during gap period
November 2, 2018HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - CMS appears to have done little to change its competitive bidding-related rule from the time it was proposed in July until it was finalized on Nov. 1.Despite myriad concerns raised by HME industry stakeholders, the agency did not extend 50/50 blended reimbursement rates to all non-bid areas; and it did not apply CPI adjustments to rates in bid areas retroactively from 2008-13.“While I believe that CMS is making a smart decision in pausing the bidding program to work on additional...
J & B Medical delivers HME to those in need
October 19, 2018HME News Staff
NICEVILLE, Fla. - J & B Medical has been pitching in to help those in the Florida Panhandle who have been affected by Hurricane Michael, the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. Kim Wonsick, vice president and compliance officer, told HME News this week that the company was bringing oxygen concentrators, wheelchairs, walkers and other general items to area hospitals per their requests. J & B has given out all of its hospital beds; it has ordered more, but they are already...