AAHomecare to Congress: Cut HME Off of the Cut List

ARLINGTON, Va. — On Tuesday, the American Association for
Homecare sent a letter to the Senate Finance Committee about the
list of options for financing health reform through cuts in
Medicare. The association message: Take HME off the list.

“The HME sector has been subjected to a long series of
deep and disproportionate reductions in reimbursements in recent
years that are having a negative impact on the quality of care that
Medicare beneficiaries and physicians alike have come to
expect,” read the letter, addressed to committee Chairman Max
Baucus, D-Mont., and Ranking Member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

Pointing out the nationwide 9.5 percent cut in 10 product
categories and the 36-month cap on oxygen payments that took effect
Jan. 1, the six-page letter recommended that Congress:

• Refrain from further cuts to oxygen and enact
budget-neutral reform to improve quality of care and increase cost
transparency;

• End the “competitive” bidding program, which
is a flawed administrative pricing mechanism that produces
arbitrary and capricious pricing that will reduce access to care
and put thousands of small providers out of business;

• Restore appropriate payment for complex rehab to
preserve beneficiary independence; and

• Enact effective and aggressive fraud-and-abuse measures
that focus on preventing and detecting Medicare fraud early, which
is a more proactive approach than the current
“pay-and-chase” system of combating fraud.

A recent report from the Finance Committee includes
reimbursement reductions for HME on a list of potential revenue
options that could pay for health care reform. Although no specific
cuts were recommended, the report does make a reference to ensuring
“appropriate payments” for oxygen and power
wheelchairs.

For more, see “DME
Targeted on List of Cuts to Pay for Health Reform,” May
19.