AAHomecare, Washington Groups Press for More Time on NCB

WASHINGTON–In response to CMS’ one-week extension of its
first-round bid deadlines, AAHomecare announced late Friday that it
has joined several other stakeholder groups to go after support in
Congress for a longer delay in the implementation of national
competitive bidding.

While the “announced delay for competitive bidding is welcome,”
the association said, serious concerns about the program roll-out
mean a broader delay is in order.

The association said it has teamed up with several other groups
in Washington to gain congressional support through House and
Senate “sign-on letters” asking for a delay in the implementation
of competitive bidding and an extension in the online bidding
window until a number of questions can be answered by CMS. (See
“First-Round Bidders Get One-Week Reprieve” in this
issue.)

The other groups include the Advanced Medical Technology
Association, the Health Industry Distributors Association and the
National Association for Support of Long Term Care. The
associations are also asking patient groups to alert congressional
leaders about their concerns with the implementation and impact of
competitive bidding.

AAHomecare said the House letter is being spearheaded by Reps.
Tom Allen, D-Maine, and Sam Johnson, R-Texas. Sponsors of the
Senate letter are Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Pat Roberts,
R-Kan.

The association is urging HME stakeholders to contact their
legislators to sign on to the letters by July 10.

For more information, contact AAHomecare’s Walt Gorski, [email protected], or Stacey
Harms, [email protected].