Tag: Lobbying

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., met with MAMES members in Sioux Falls, S.D., on June 29 to discuss the critical issues facing the HME industry.  Members, as well as executives from AAHomecare and The VGM Group, discussed critical staffing shortages, cost increases and surcharges, flawed reimbursement rates and burdensome documentation requirements.  “Sen. Thune spent an hour listening to MAMES members explain how they were an integral part of the health care...

MONTOUR FALLS, N.Y. – Quinlan’s Pharmacy in November hosted an event with Joe Sempolinksi, who is running to replace Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., who is not seeking another term in 2022. John Quinlan and other stakeholders discussed their concerns, including the need to extend reimbursement for non-rural and rural areas, and to establish new rates for competitive bid areas due to increased costs of equipment, PPE, surcharges and labor. “I was very impressed with candidate Sempolinski...

WASHINGTON – AAHomecare has retained The Nickels Group, a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm, to bolster the association’s ability to engage Capitol Hill and federal agencies overseeing health care policy. TNG, which has strong contacts and experience working with CMS, HHS and OMB, recently added Brett Baker, the former health policy director for the Senate Finance Committee, to its roster. “I had the privilege of working with AAHomecare during my 10 years on Capitol Hill – first...

PHOENIX – When Congress breaks for recess next month, the industry needs to prime the pump for the fall, said John Gallagher, vice president of government relations for VGM, at Medtrade West.  “It’s time for the August of Action,” he said during a legislative update at that the show. “They’ll have the infrastructure package behind them, so when they come back, they will be dealing with issues related to Medicare and health care, so reach out to them while...

WASHINGTON – NCART and NRRTS will host a Virtual CRT Congressional Fly-in on Sept. 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as part of National CRT Awareness Week. “Every year we hold a CRT-focused Washington, D.C., event that keeps CRT advocates connected with Capitol Hill to talk about issues impacting access for people with disabilities,” NCART stated in an announcement. “We’re excited to offer the opportunity to deliver these important messages without asking attendees to leave...

SPOKANE, Wash. – Members of the Pacific Association for Medical Equipment Services (PAMES), along with John Gallagher of VGM, met with the staff of Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in her office here last week. The group expressed concerns with the increasing costs of home medical equipment. Accompanying Gallagher, vice president of government relations for VGM, were Mike Calcaterra and Paul Sabin of Norco, Don Whitney of Inland Medical and Rehab, and Melissa Roberts of Bellevue Healthcare. McMorris...

WASHINGTON – With a new administration, a new Congress and new leadership at CMS and HHS still taking shape, there won’t be a lot of action on HME priorities for the next few months, say AAHomecare officials.  Among those priorities is a final rule expected to include a host of DME-related provisions.  “The new administration is reviewing all regulations and still getting staff on board,” said Jay Witter, senior vice president...

In the past few months:  A global pandemic has severely stressed the supply of oxygen concentrators, revealing cracks in an HME industry that has been slowly chipped away at by Medicare’s competitive bidding program for 10 years.  CMS has decided not to move forward with the majority of Round 2021 of that program, because the agency didn’t “achieve expected savings,” and therefore – wait for it – the current reduced rates continue to apply.  The...

WATERLOO, Iowa – The VGM Group hosted a socially distanced and masked-up meeting with newly elected member of Congress, Ashley Hinson, at its corporate headquarters on Jan. 25. Rep. Hinson, R-Iowa, met with VGM senior leadership, as well as John Gallagher, Tom Powers and Emily Harkin of the Government Relations team. The group discussed concerns within the HME industry, primarily decreased reimbursement rates and regulatory burdens. “The discussion was constructive, and both parties were...

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...