Tag: AAHomecare Washington Legislative Conference

WASHINGTON - HME stakeholders weren't lacking in “asks” going into AAHomecare's Washington Legislative Conference last week, with a number of bills and letters targeting Medicare's competitive bidding program in place.The bills included H.R. 2771, which would provide relief from the bid program in rural and non-rural non-bid areas, and eliminate the budget neutrality requirement for oxygen; and the letters included sign-on letters in the House of Representatives and Senate asking CMS...

WASHINGTON - A major goal of the AAHomecare Washington Legislative Conference last week was determining whether or not Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., will continue to lead the HME industry's bid relief efforts.With a bill in the House of Representatives, but no bill in the Senate, the big question is: Is Thune satisfied with the relief outlined in the recently released interim final rule, which impacts rural states like the senator's the most, or does he want to continue pushing for more widespread relief?“Everyone's...

WASHINGTON - A recent study from the American Thoracic Society correlates with findings of the HME Patient Access Study sponsored by AAHomecare, according to an association bulletin. Dobson DaVanzo & Associates has put together a summary of how the ATS study, “Patient Perceptions of the Adequacy of Supplemental Oxygen Therapy: Results of the American Thoracic Society Nursing Assembly Oxygen Working Group Survey,” reinforces findings of the patient access survey. In particular, both studies...

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare elected new leadership during its annual membership meeting at the Washington Legislative Conference in May. Steve Ackerman, CEO, Spectrum Medical, is chairman of the board of directors; Bill Guidetti, executive vice president, East Zone, Apria Healthcare, is vice chairman; and Jeff Hall, president of Reliable Medical Supply, is treasurer. Laura McIlvaine a board member with Shield Healthcare, has joined the board; and Doug Coleman, CEO of Rocky Mountain Medical Equipment,...

WASHINGTON - Forcing Medicare to better coordinate audits and improve the appeals process is one of the top priorities of the Senate Finance Committee this year, Kimberly Brandt told attendees at the AAHomecare Washington Legislative Conference on Wednesday.The committee plans to conduct a hearing for its AFIRM Act this summer, setting the stage for the bill to be re-introduced later this year, said Brandt, chief healthcare investigative counsel for the committee.“We hope to come out with finalized...

WASHINGTON - Registration is now open for the AAHomecare Washington Legislative Conference, May 24-25 at the Washington Court Hotel. The association says the annual event provides an excellent opportunity to engage directly with lawmakers and their staff members on industry issues, including rural relief, competitive bidding, audits and complex rehab accessories. The event is open to both members and non-members. Early bird room reservations are available through April 28. Click here to register.

WASHINGTON - With precious few Congressional days left to stave off an upcoming second round of Medicare reimbursement cuts, the sense of urgency at the AAHomecare Washington Legislative Conference on Wednesday was palpable.John Letizia, the chairman of the board of the association, set the tone for the event in his opening remarks when he said of the event's more than 200 scheduled Hill visits, “Good luck and let's give them hell.”Tom Ryan, president and CEO of the association, followed...

Here are a few quotables and tidbits from my first day at the AAHomecare Washington Legislative Conference. You'll end up in cuffs, sir Outgoing AAHomecare Chairman Robert Steedley started everyone off this morning with a funny anecdote about Jay Witter, the association's senior vice president of public policy. It turns out Steedley has a thing for cuff links and when Witter was preparing him for this week's testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee Health Subcommittee, Steedley said something...