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.