AAHomecare presses OIG to objectively review bidding program

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 14, 2013—AAHomecare is making a formal request to the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) urging the investigative group to complete its congressionally-mandated assessment of the Medicare bidding program.

The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2009 (MIPPA) calls for the OIG to review and issue a report on the bidding program, and the subsequent pricing determinations that are the basis for pivotal bid amounts and single payment amounts in Rounds 1 and 2.

AAHomecare, Congress, and the public have been stymied by CMS’ unwillingness to share even the most basic information about the bidding program. Despite repeated attempts to have CMS disclose information related to the criteria used to determine how supply and demand are met under the program, as well as the calculation of single payment amounts, CMS has been unwilling to do so. Now, the OIG is the only remaining oversight body that can review every aspect of the bidding program.

The OIG has told AAHomecare that its report will be completed by late summer or early fall. The timing of the assessment is troubling to AAHomecare since the report was mandated by Congress in 2009 and the program is set to expand ten-fold in just 111 days. The association believes that a program that impacts more than 50 percent of the country should have been completely analyzed prior to the initiation of bidding for Round 2.

AAHomecare plans to meet with the OIG in the near future to discuss the parameters of their analysis, and share our insights on why this program is not sustainable over the longer term, and why it is creating serious disruptions in the provision of care that allows patients to remain at home. For more information contact Rachel Prager at 202-372-0756.