Tag: rural relief

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 for information...

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 public...

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; andeliminate the...

WASHINGTON - The long-anticipated interim final rule landed with a thud last week, when it became apparent that it offered little in the way of bid relief, say industry stakeholders.“It's not the IFR we were expecting,” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations for Invacare. “They didn't even do half of what were anticipating and, more importantly, what folks on Capitol Hill were anticipating.”The IFR, published in the May 11 Federal Register, applies...

WASHINGTON - Industry stakeholders are urging providers to gather as many original co-sponsors as they can for a bill expected to drop in November that would provide relief for non-bid areas.Last week, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., released draft language for the bill, which would roll back a portion of the reimbursement cuts that went into effect in non-bid areas in 2016 and address a “double dip” cut to oxygen reimbursement. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, has signed on to be the...

WASHINGTON - Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., has released draft language of a bill that would provide relief from the competitive bidding program in non-bid areas and would address a “double-dip” cut on oxygen, according to AAHomecare. The legislation would extend a retroactive delay of a second round of reimbursement cuts in non-bid areas from Jan. 1, 2017, to Jan. 1, 2019. Per the legislation, reimbursement for that period would be based on reimbursement on Jan. 1, 2016. The legislative...

WASHINGTON - From Martha's Vineyard to the Pacific Northwest, rural HME providers are struggling to survive in a post-competitive bidding world, they told CMS officials during a call March 23.CMS was mandated by the 21st Century Cures Act to take into account stakeholder input on future pricing in non-bid areas, which got their first taste of the program in 2016.“We've been forced to dig into our personal savings to keep our business afloat this year and continue to provide much needed supplies...

WASHINGTON - CMS has updated the DME Center page of its website with information on how it plans to implement certain provisions in the recently passed 21st Century Cures Act.For a provision that delays CMS's plans to apply bid-derived pricing to accessories for complex power wheelchairs for another six months, until July 1, 2017, the agency states:“To implement the extension, the 2016 KU fee schedule amounts have been updated by the 2017 0.7% covered item update and will be added to the 2017...

WASHINGTON - Now that a rollback of a second round of Medicare reimbursement cuts in rural areas is a foregone conclusion, the big question is: How will CMS follow through on Congress' directive?At press time on Friday, the 21st Century Cures Act was on its way to a supportive president for his signature, after sailing through the House of Representatives on Nov. 30 and the Senate on Dec. 7. The huge bill will, among many other things, roll back cuts that went into effect in non-competitive bidding...

WASHINGTON - The HME industry is within spitting distance of rolling back certain Medicare reimbursement cuts after the 21st Century Cures Act sailed through the House of Representatives last week.The legislation, which passed Nov. 30 by a vote of 392 to 26, would roll back a second round of Medicare reimbursement cuts that went into effect this year in non-competitive bidding areas from June 30, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2016. But the cuts would again go into effect on Jan. 1, 2017.“Obviously, we...