Tag: Washington Legislative Conference

WASHINGTON – The HME industry needs to be “prepared for anything,” stakeholders say, to get reimbursement relief in place for 2024.  Stakeholders converged virtually on Capitol Hill on Sept. 20 as part of AAHomecare’s Washington Legislative Conference to push the DMEPOS Relief Act of 2023 (H.R. 5555), a bill that would provide a 90/10 blended Medicare reimbursement rate for most home medical equipment products in competitive bidding areas for all of 2024 and extend...

WASHINGTON – A continuing resolution to fund the government is expected to pass without any of the industry’s legislative initiatives, but stakeholders are looking ahead to the end of the year, with a boost from the Sept. 21 AAHomecare Virtual Washington Legislative Conference.  Those initiatives include H.R. 6641, a bill that would implement a blended reimbursement rate based 90% on bid pricing and 10% on the 2015 fee schedule and would extend a 75/25 blended rate for non-bid,...

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare will partner with Advocacy Associates to host a virtual Washington Legislative Conference on Sept. 21. The event provides members of the HME community the opportunity to advocate for issues affecting their businesses and patients. “As we enter year three of the public health emergency, our challenges have escalated, but your service and care has not diminished,” said AAHomecare. “In the wake of supply chain issues, microchip shortages, labor shortages and...

WASHINGTON – The deadline to register for AAHomecare’s Virtual Washington Legislative Conference is coming up: Sept. 22.  The association won’t be able to make meeting requests with lawmakers of behalf of attendees after that date.   Also on Sept. 22, AAHomecare will host an Issue Education and Training Program for the conference at 2:30 p.m. ET. The association encourages all attendees to participate to gain a full understanding of this year’s new virtual...

AAHomecare’s 2021 Washington Legislative Conference will take place virtually on Sept. 29. The daylong event will include virtual meetings with members of Congress. AAHomecare is partnering with Advocacy Associates to deliver a virtual meeting platform that will schedule meetings, provide background on each of the legislators, and allow attendees to connect directly with members of Congress and key legislative staffers. The association will provide more details this spring...Larissa...

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare has canceled its annual Washington Legislative Conference, scheduled for May 20-21. The Centers for Disease Control on March 16 recommended against gathering of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks—one week after the event with more than 150 attendees expected. AAHomecare is currently working to develop alternative advocacy opportunities.

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...

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...

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,...