AAHomecare

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 20, 2017)—Storms are brewing, and not just the metaphorical kind caused by crushing reimbursement and regulations. As we move into the late summer months, suppliers are readying their companies for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, heat waves and other disasters that wreak havoc on communities, leaving their customers in need of vital equipment and services.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 7, 2017)—TRICARE is issuing its first official acknowledgements that they will reprocess claims from July 1 through December 31, 2016 to reflect adjustments to the fee schedule mandated by last December’s CURES bill.

-Via AAHomcare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 6, 2017)—AAHomecare members are taking advantage of the Retail Work Group to learn new and innovative ways to infuse cash sales into their mix and diversify beyond an insurance-based model.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 29, 2017)—CMS released proposed 2018 changes to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System and related kidney/renal disease regulations.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 26, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that accessories for Group 3 power Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) mobility products will continue to remain exempt from the application of competitive bidding derived pricing for Medicare beneficiaries.

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 14, 2017)—AAHomecare received word Monday that the Congressional sign-on letter on HME priority issues “closed” with commitments from 153 members of the House of Representatives. Per the usual procedure with these sign-on letters, Hill staffers are now taking the letter to each of these offices to get an actual signature on the letter. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 13, 2017)—Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare is taking on an expanded leadership role in the home medical equipment (HME) sector by becoming the only HME manufacturer supporting the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) as a Platinum-level partner, the highest sponsorship category for the Association.

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 7, 2017)—With the publishing of the fee schedule by CMS, the HME industry is still awaiting the Department of Defense Health plans and timeline for implementing the Cures Act.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 31, 2017)—At the Association’s annual membership meeting at this year’s Washington Legislative Conference, AAHomecare elected new leadership, installing Steve Ackerman (CEO, Spectrum Medical, Inc.—Silver Spring, Md.) as chairman of the Board. Other officers elected include:

WATERLOO, Iowa (May 22, 2017)—If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine the power of a video. For years, clinicians and case managers have struggled to coordinate care for their Medicare patients who require home medical equipment, services, and supplies under the Competitive Bidding Program (CBP). Meanwhile, CMS reports that there are no issues with CBP and that access has been unaffected.

Via AAHomecare—WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 17, 2017)—We have just received confirmation that Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) has formally introduced legislation that would require prior authorization for certain home medical equipment items in higher price ranges. The formal title for HR 2445 will be the DMEPOS Access and Transparency Act of 2017, and may also be referred to as the DATA Act of 2017.

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 10, 2017)—AAHomecare continues to press the case for longer-term relief for rural and non-bid area providers, as well as for significant structural improvements to the Competitive Bidding Program with Federal regulators.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 4, 2017)—AAHomecare is pleased to announce George Kucka will be the recipient of this year’s AAHomecare/Mal Mixon Legislative Advocate Award at the upcoming Legislative Conference May 24–25, 2017 in Washington, D.C.

—Via AAHomecare WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 2, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated the fee schedule for rural and non-bid areas to adjust reimbursements to rural providers for products and services furnished between the July 1–December 31 period.


—Via AAHomecare WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 27, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced significant changes to improve the processing and adjudication of recurring/serial claims for capped rental items and certain inexpensive and routinely-purchased items.

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 26, 2017)—According to research AAHomecare had been performing using Medicare data, the number of traditional suppliers of home medical equipment to Medicare beneficiaries has dropped 40.9 percent since July 2013. In addition, the number of unique locations (commonly referred to as rooftops) serving Medicare beneficiaries has declined by 38.7 percent during the same period.

—via AAHomecare WASHINGTON, D.C.

—Via AAHomecare WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2017)—On Tuesday afternoon, AAHomecare president Tom Ryan, Jay Witter, AAHomecare senior vice president of public affairs, Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations with Invacare, and Thomas Barker, an attorney recently engaged by the Association, met with CMS Administrator Seema Verma and Deputy Administrator Demetrios Kouzoukas, as well as several other HHS and CMS staffers.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 27, 2017)—Each year the HME community comes together in Washington, D.C. to advocate and strengthen relationships in Congress. It is a critical gathering, made stronger by greater numbers of participants demonstrating how important our relatively small share of the Medicare budget is to the entire health care continuum.

—via AAHomecare (March 23, 2017)—Earlier today AAHomecare shared HME industry recommendations for fixing significant problems with CMS’s DMEPOS competitive bidding program with HHS Secretary Tom Price. The recommendations focus on six major areas: