Tag: lobbying

Earlier this month, Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty and I were trying to piece together the latest developments in reimbursement relief and we were both getting pretty frustrated. AAHomecare announced recently that the industry's champions in the House of Representatives had introduced H.R. 8158, a bill that would eliminate the budget neutrality requirement for home oxygen therapy. The association says the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested that the provision be peeled away from the other...

WASHINGTON - NCART and NRRTS have postponed their Access2CRT Summit, originally scheduled for March 30-31 in Arlington, Va., “due to the unpredictable nature and reach of the coronavirus.” “We regret having to take this action and understand this will inconvenience registrants with travel plans in place,” the organizations stated. “However, like many across the country, we have been carefully monitoring the progression of the coronavirus and the recommendations and actions...

WASHINGTON - Forty-six members of the National Home Infusion Association met with more than 70 Congressional offices on Oct. 1 to discuss concerns with how CMS plans to implement a payment policy for home infusion services.In a final rule released in 2018, CMS said it would limit reimbursement for professional services to only those days a “skilled professional”—which it defines as a nurse—is in the home. Stakeholders have pushed back, saying that was not the intent of lawmakers.“Congress...

Tarentum, Pa.-based Blackburn's hosted U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., for a roundtable discussion with company executives, University of Pittsburgh researchers and other industry stakeholders, according to a local newspaper. The focus of the discussion: two bills, one that would stop competitive bidding pricing for accessories for complex rehab manual wheelchairs (H.R. 2293) and one that would create a separate benefit category for complex rehab (H.R. 2408). Lamb said the discussion was valuable, especially...

WASHINGTON - Complex rehab stakeholders have another data point to support their efforts to stop CMS from applying competitive bidding pricing to components of complex rehab manual wheelchairs. The Clinician Task Force surveyed clinicians from across the county and collected patient-specific issues related to the ongoing cuts to complex rehab, and shared them in a recent letter to Reps. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., and John Larson, D-Conn. “With the recent reduction in payment for CRT manual wheelchair...

YARMOUTH, Maine - The results of a recent HME Newspoll show an industry divided over the benefits of lobbying, with one camp citing Medicare as a lost cause and another believing too much is at stake not to advocate.Only 47% of respondents to the poll say they submitted comments to a recent interim final rule that laid out CMS's plans to offer relief from competitive bidding, but only from June 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2018, and only in rural and non-contiguous areas, not all non-bid areas.“If...

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare has retained Brown & Fortunato to provide a range of legal and advisory services. Long-time HME industry advocate Cara Bachenheimer, who is set to open a Washington, D.C., lobbying office for the Amarillo, Texas-based law firm in June, will take the lead role representing the association's regulatory and legislative priorities. “I have had a front-row view of Cara's work on HME public policy issues over the years, and I have always come away impressed by her depth of...

NORMAN, Okla. - Members of the Oklahoma Medical Equipment Providers Association and the VGM Group hosted Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., at an event at Norman Regional Home Medical Equipment. Members discussed how DME and complex rehab providers care for patients. Cole was especially interested in the industry's efforts to keep patients in their homes. Also of interest: the flaws of Medicare's competitive bidding program, as his district falls within the Oklahoma City bid area. Jason Price of the Oklahoma...

WASHINGTON ­- Cara Bachenheimer has a new gig that allows her to double-down on her efforts advocating for the HME industry.Bachenheimer is opening a Washington, D.C., office for Amarillo, Texas-based law firm Brown & Fortunato on June 1, a move that will expand her legislative and regulatory work beyond Invacare, where she has worked for more than 14 years.Here's what Bachenheimer, who will count Invacare as her first client, had to say about why lobbying is more important than ever before.HME News:...

WASHINGTON - Cara Bachenheimer, a long-time advocate of the HME and complex rehab industries, is opening up a Washington, D.C., office for Amarillo, Texas-based Brown & Fortunato. Bachenheimer has worked for Invacare, most recently as senior vice president of government relations, for more than 14 years. Invacare will be Bachenheimer's first client. “I appreciate Invacare's continued support as I step away to help other businesses understand the impact of and help share future healthcare legislation...