AAHomecare Paints Stark Picture, Issues Appeal for Action

LAS VEGAS–One big draw at Medtrade Spring last week was the
American Association for Homecare’s Washington Update, which
attracted enough people at its 7:30 a.m. Wednesday session to fill
the chairs and line the walls.

Tyler Wilson, AAHomecare president, started out with an urgent
call to action: “You realize that your futures are inextricably
tied to what Medicare does. I hope when you leave here today,
you’ll be energized and turn your information into action,” he
said.

Wilson and Walt Gorski, the association’s vice president of
government affairs, painted a stark picture for the HME industry,
noting that it is being hammered by competitive bidding, an oxygen
rental cap, declining reimbursement, elimination of the first-month
purchase option for power wheelchairs and a perception in
Washington that “HME spending is out of control.”

In addition, there are federal budget pressures with the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan and a growing deficit that are sparking
Medicare cuts and, thus, HME reimbursement.

But there are legislative measures that could change the
picture. The Tanner-Hobson Bill (H.R.1845) would allow all eligible
providers to participate at the competitive bidding rate, as long
as they bid under the fee schedule amount. The Home Oxygen Patient
Protection Act (H.R. 621) would repeal the 36-month oxygen rental
cap mandated by the Deficit Reduction Act. In addition to
championing both those bills, AAHomecare is also lobbying to
preserve the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs and
seeking to stop any further cuts.

“Right now, our main goal is to stop the bleeding. We are being
whipsawed around,” said Gorski.

But that costs money and a loud voice, both of which are
lacking. AAHomecare membership is currently about 500, and most of
its providers are small, 80 percent generating less than $5 million
in revenue, Wilson said, adding that the association has only about
$10,000 in its PAC coffers.

Those figures prompted A.J. Filippis of Wright & Filippis,
an HME, orthotics and prosthetics company in Rochester, Minn., to
pledge $5,000 on the spot. “You need to get involved, people,” he
said to the crowd. “It’s imperative that you get to Congress.”

Money won’t necessarily buy the results HME providers want,
Filippis pointed out, but it will buy a much better chance of
getting those results. “Money buys you access,” he said.

“Everybody thinks that the big guys are going to fight the
battles. But everybody needs to be there.”

For information on the Tanner-Hobson bill and the Home Oxygen
Patient Protection Act, visit the AAHomecare Web site at www.aahomecare.org.