AAHomecare Sets DC Fly-In to Stop Round One

ARLINGTON, Va.–As part of a push to suspend round one of
competitive bidding, the American Association for Homecare
announced Friday it will hold a Washington fly-in May 21 “to
convince Congress to take action to address the numerous problems
that plague the bidding program.”

Said Tyler Wilson, AAHomecare president, “We expect all
affected groups to participate, including home care providers,
patient organizations, clinical groups and other stakeholders. We
are also working with the state home care associations, the buying
groups and others to engage all of the communities affected by the
bidding.

“Because of the sweeping impact of bidding program, all
DME providers should recognize that they have a stake in round
one,” Wilson said.

Last month, the association sent a letter to CMS Acting
Administrator Kerry Weems detailing the problems with round one of
bidding. But “the mild response AAHomecare received …
regarding round one concerns was not encouraging,” the
association reported in its weekly newsletter. “Administrator
Weems’ letter failed to acknowledge any of the specific concerns or
the magnitude of the problems.”

CMS has, however, asked for more detail about the problems, the
association said.

Meanwhile, congressional intervention is “a top
priority,” the newsletter continued. “If enough
legislators pitch in and put pressure on HHS Secretary [Michael]
Leavitt and CMS, the home care community may succeed in getting a
suspension or some other delay in round one.”

According to the association, “there is growing support in
the Senate and House for taking some sort of action on round one
due to the serious, systemic errors in the implementation
process,” including the improper disqualification of more
than 100 providers in the 10 round one bidding areas.

Leading up to the fly-in, the association urged providers,
patients and other stakeholders to contact members of Congress
about potential effects of the Medicare bid. Providers can write
letters, call or visit the home offices of their state’s officials
to make sure their legislators are informed about the issues.

AAHomecare has readied a white paper on competitive bidding that
providers can use. The five-page paper details “the most serious
round one concerns,” the association said. Among them:

• Suppliers were erroneously disqualified based on CMS errors and
  based on non-substantive reasons.
• Suppliers with no history of servicing a geographical region or
  current business operations in a bidding area were awarded
  contracts.
• CMS’ unwillingness to share meaningful data to fully assess the
  likely impact of the program on suppliers and beneficiaries. The
  entire implementation phase of the program has been shrouded in
  secrecy, and in all aspects, failed to meet customary standards of
  government transparency.
• CMS must resolve supplier disqualifications from round one in a
  transparent manner.
• Beneficiaries will face disruptions in service and reduced
  quality.

Details of the one-day lobbying event, including a headquarters
hotel, will be available shortly, said Michael Reinemer, AAHomecare
vice president, communications and policy. “But we don’t want
people to wait until May 21 to get in touch with their members of
Congresss,” Reinemer said. “We need to keep the volume up between
now and then.”

To download a copy of the white paper, visit www.aahomecare.org.