Hearing to address bidding problems

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 4, 2012—On Tuesday, Sept. 11, Tammy Zelenko, CEO of AdvaCare Home Services in Pittsburgh, will represent the American Association for Homecare as she testifies before the Small Business Subcommittee on Healthcare and Technology. The subcommittee will hold a hearing titled “Medicare’s Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program: How are Small Suppliers Faring?” with the aim of helping Congress understand the program’s impact on small providers.

While the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) claims that it has special considerations to help small providers win contracts and that about 51 percent of winning providers are small (defined by gross revenue of $3.5 million or less), evidence from Round 1 of bidding indicates that the HME sector is suffering a severe, widespread contraction. In July AAHomecare submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee a list of more than 450 HME providers who closed locations, sold to larger companies, or went out of business entirely.

Tuesday’s hearing is an important lead-in to the introduction of Market Pricing Program (MPP) legislation by Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) later this month. Updates will be available at www.aahomecare.org.