Tag: AAHomecare
AAHomecare announces new leadership lineup
June 1, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – AAHomecare’s membership has approved the association’s new leadership lineup, including Ryan Bullock, chief strategy officer at Aeroflow Health in Asheville, N.C., as chairman of the board. Other officers approved include:
Vice chairman: David Siegel, CEO, Nationwide Medical, Calabasas, Calif.
Secretary: John Cassar, CEO, SuperCare Health, Downey, Calif.
Josh Marx, CEO of Medical Service Company and former chairman, will remain on the Executive Committee...
In brief: Latest UHC-Synapse deal, Dexcom stolen sensors, WeOxy debut
May 29, 2026HME News Staff
SKOKIE, Ill. – UnitedHealthcare has announced that Synapse Health will manage durable medical equipment (DME) orders for certain UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans in additional states beginning Sept. 1, 2026.
For individual HMO & PPO plans, Synapse Health will manage DME for members in Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
For chronic special needs plans (C-SNP), Synapse...
AAHomecare people news: A milestone, a new role and a new hire
May 28, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Gordon Barnes, senior director of communications for AAHomecare, will retire June 5 after being with the association for more than 20 years. Over two decades, Barnes has written more than 1,500 member communications, hosted hundreds of webinars with industry experts, and coordinated more than 3,000 Capitol Hill meetings and thousands of emails and calls to Congress, according to AAHomecare. “Gordon’s deep policy knowledge, sharp writing, and strong commitment to our...
Stakeholders look to Congress to pressure CMS on competitive bidding
May 22, 2026Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON – Stakeholders urged members of the House Committee on Small Business during a recent Hill day to hold the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) accountable for a new remote-item delivery (RID) framework for competitive bidding that they say will decimate small businesses.
Ahead of the fly-in, stakeholders have also been engaging the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to raise similar concerns.
“We had a good meeting with committee members and they said,...
‘Don’t be that guy’: Bill Fredericks on advocacy that works
May 22, 2026Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – Bill Fredericks jumped into advocating for the home medical equipment (HME) industry more than 20 years ago when Massachusetts Medicaid was implementing cuts and he needed to learn what was going on – and what he could do about it.
“That's when I first found the Home Medical Equipment and Services association (HOMES) and Karyn Estrella (its former executive director), so I joined that immediately,” he said. “As the owner of a small company, I needed...
CMS extends prior authorization exemption deadline
May 20, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended the deadline to opt out of prior authorization and continue submitting requests to May 26, AAHomecare reports.
This extension only applies to suppliers that received a letter from the DME MACs in early March regarding their prior authorization exemption status.
The updated MAC notice specifies:
If you reached exemption and want to continue submitting prior authorization requests, you must submit the opt-out...
Stakeholders press CMS for clarification on vent requirement
May 14, 2026HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – AAHomecare has joined several advocacy and patient groups in signing a letter to CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz requesting immediate clarification on guidance for continuing-use criteria for home mechanical ventilators (HMVs) and respiratory assist devices (RADs) for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic respiratory failure due to COPD. In the absence of clear guidance, informal supplier surveys show that more than 50% of beneficiaries using HMVs or RADs could be required to return...
Payer relations: Have a game plan
May 13, 2026Cadie McGonagill
Q. What can we do about a payment system that's failing DME suppliers?
A. Intermediaries and third-party administrators (TPAs) have become significant players in how durable medical equipment reaches patients. For DME businesses serving everyday communities, the burden is becoming difficult to sustain.
As the prevalence of TPAs supporting Medicaid Managed Care and Medicare Advantage payers trends upward, our industry needs a game plan to respond to an evolving model that, without proper...
North Carolina extends Medicaid rate floor
May 13, 2026HME News Staff
RALEIGH, N.C. – Both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly have approved a one‑year extension of the state’s Medicaid rate floor, moving its expiration from June 30, 2026, to June 30, 2027, according to a bulletin from AAHomecare. House Bill 696 was signed into law by Gov. Josh Stein on April 30. This extension builds on a success for North Carolina providers first achieved in 2021, when the state enacted Senate Bill 594 to establish a Medicaid rate floor for DMEPOS. That...
Stakeholders make case to CMS Administrator Oz on bid program, moratorium
May 1, 2026Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – Industry stakeholders left a recent meeting with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz buoyed by his “willingness” to work with the home medical equipment (HME) industry on a host of concerns.
The 35-minute meeting, which also included Deputy Administrator Kim Brandt, was the first between AAHomecare leadership and Oz.
“We’ve been working hard to engage CMS and the Administration ever since the proposed rule came...