Tag: aahomecare
North Carolina implements Medicaid rate floor
July 8, 2021HME News Staff
RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on June 29 signed S594, a bill that creates a rate floor for durable medical equipment, ACMESA and AAHomecare report.
Per the legislation, reimbursement for DME will be set at 100% of the lesser of the supplier’s usual and customary rate or the maximum allowable Medicaid fee-for-service rates for DME and supplies, orthotics and prosthetics.
The legislation, which went into effect July 1, protects rate floor provisions for...
AAHomecare engages medical directors on recall
June 30, 2021HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - AAHomecare has reached out to the DME MAC medical directors to address the challenges HME providers and patients face due to the Philips recall.
In a letter to the four directors, the association requests that the DME MACs continue to reimburse for equipment and supplies affected by the recall for patients who continue to use them, as well as implement a temporary suspension of time-specific adherence rules to allow patients time to have devices repaired or replaced.
“AAHomecare...
‘We want to make sure this is stopped’
June 30, 2021Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON – The payer relations team at AAHomecare is working with state and regional associations to pick off attempts by managed care organizations and other insurers to decrease reimbursement for HME.
Stakeholders have a number of bills working their way through state legislatures to protect reimbursement for DME at 100% of the state Medicaid fee schedules. One of those states: New York, where A.5368 is scheduled to go before the Rules Committee before heading to the floor for...
Stakeholders gauge interest in new coalition
June 30, 2021Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – A group of about 40 providers and manufacturers participated in a call in May to discuss whether there’s enough interest to form a Breast Pump Policy Coalition that could tackle a host of issues related to the product category.
“We’re still in the discovery phase,” said Ryan Bullock, COO of Aeroflow and co-chair of the coalition, which AAHomecare is spearheading. “We’ve sent out a follow-up survey to gauge their ongoing interest and...
In brief: Accessories reprieve, oxygen challenge, advocate of the year
June 25, 2021HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – CMS has announced a 90-day suspension of scheduled Medicare cuts to accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs, NCART reports.
That extends an 18-month suspension that would have expired on July 1 to Oct. 1.
“They will use this time for further analysis and, hopefully, a permanent suspension,” Don Clayback, executive director of NCART, tweeted today. “Thank you advocates, Congress and CMS.”
On Monday, a letter led...
Registration opens for AAH Legislative Conference
June 24, 2021HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Registration is open for AAHomecare’s first-ever Virtual Washington Legislative Conference, which takes place Sept. 29 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. Along with partner Advocacy Associates, AAHomecare will schedule meetings and provide a Zoom link to use for conversations with legislators and key members of staff. The association will also provide training on Sept. 22 at 2:30pm ET that will cover how to use its meeting site and issue education. The cost is $129 for members...
People news: AAH board, Viemed board
June 15, 2021HME News Staff
AAHomecare’s membership has re-elected Bill Guidetti of Apria as chair of the board and has approved Josh Marx of Medicare Service Company as vice chair and Mike Kloos of VGM Insurance as treasurer. Members also elected six people to at-large board seats for three-year terms: Josh Britten of BritKare Home Medical, Lucy Busa of Comfort Medical, Larissa D’Andrea of ResMed, Jennifer Pederson of Lincare, Isaac Rodriguez of National Seating & Mobility, and James Russell of URS Medical. Busa...
Stakeholders mine American Rescue Plan for relief opportunities
June 11, 2021Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON – The payer relations team at AAHomecare is working with its association partners to craft a letter asking state governments to include HME in their allocation of millions of dollars in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act.
President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion act, also known as the COVID-19 Stimulus Package, in March, providing, among other things, $195.3 billion to states and the District of Columbia to help them cover increased expenditures, replenish lost...
Round 2021: Stakeholders analyze another piece of puzzle
June 3, 2021Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – Newly released data from Round 2021 show that modifications to the competitive bidding program worked in a number of ways, but more are needed, say industry stakeholders.
The data reveal that 15,695 or 42% of bids submitted for the 13 major product categories dropped from Round 2021 were disqualified for reasons that included pricing and financial issues. Hundreds of bids were disqualified for invalid bid bonds.
“(Requiring) bid bonds reduced the amount...
Higher product costs and supply chain bottlenecks continue to challenge HME
May 28, 2021Gordon Barnes
Even as vaccination rates grow and new cases of COVID-19 are slowing nationwide, HME suppliers and manufacturers remain in the grip of another side effect of the pandemic: higher product costs and increased operational expenses.
HME suppliers first began seeing these impacts in early 2020, as demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) surged, with shortages and higher costs quickly following. Additional impacts of the pandemic were confirmed in a May 2020 survey on supply chain disruptions...