WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 27, 2016)—While much of our outreach on public policy this year has focused on mitigating the impact of bidding-derived reimbursement rates for providers in rural and non-bid areas, the American Association for Homecare also continues its important work on regulatory and legislative approaches to reforming Medicare audits.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 24, 2016)—A leading scientific journal is publishing a study finding that Medicare’s competitive bidding program for home medical equipment and supplies caused adverse health outcomes, including increased hospitalization and death, of diabetic Medicare beneficiaries nationwide.
LAS VEGAS (February 10, 2016)—Join HME industry leaders at Medtrade Spring’s premier networking event and help us give back to the consumer patient and advocacy groups that serve our patients and are partners with us on advocacy issues.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 27, 2016)—Since the start of the New Year, AAHomecare leadership has taken part in numerous discussions with leading companies and associations in the HME sector to map out strategy to get relief for companies in rural areas, as well as those in other non-bid areas, now subject to Medicare competitive bidding-derived pricing.
WATERLOO, Iowa (January 21, 2016)—VGM Insurance Services has partnered with American Association for Homecare to offer preferred pricing on their surety bonds and liability insurance products to AAHomecare members.
EXETER, PA (January 13, 2016)—Pride Mobility Products Corporation is pleased to announce the promotion of Seth Johnson to Senior Vice President of Government Affairs.
LAS VEGAS (January 13, 2016)—Medtrade Spring is packed with educational sessions and hundreds of exhibitors on the show floor. However, it’s the third benefit of Medtrade Spring—networking—that can often bring the most unexpected benefits. “Free-flowing conversation via face-to-face interaction can yield valuable information, lasting friendships, and keen insights,” says Kevin Gaffney, group show director, Medtrade.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 7, 2016)—On December 29, 2015, CMS published the final rule to Medicare Program: Prior Authorization Process for Certain Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies. This comes a year and a half after the proposed rule, which came out on May 28, 2014. Originally CMS proposed that the timeframe for a response to a prior authorization request would be made within 10 days or two days for expedited requests.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 4, 2016)—CMS Tuesday issued a final rule, “Medicare Program: Prior Authorization Process for Certain Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies,” that would establish a prior authorization process for certain DMEPOS items that they cite as frequently subject to unnecessary utilization.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 23, 2015)—Provisions from H.R. 284, legislation that passed the House in March 2015 were ultimately folded into H.R. 2, comprehensive Medicare legislation popularly known as the “Doc Fix,” which was ultimately signed into law on April 16, 2015. The legislation improves the competitive bidding in these three concrete ways:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 18, 2015)—In June, CMS announced its intention to make changes to the HCPCS codes for ventilators, including dramatically lowering the payment rate—by 35 percent—for these devices/therapies, starting on January 1, 2016.
ATLANTA (October 28, 2015)—American Association for Homecare members will receive discounted pricing on DMEPOS surety bonds and liability insurance from VGM Insurance tailored to the home medical equipment business, according to an agreement announced today at Medtrade.
ATLANTA (October 27, 2015)—This year’s annual Homecare Champion Award went to brothers Joey Tart and Billy Tart, co-founders of Family Medical Supply Inc, a home oxygen and home medical equipment company with 17 locations throughout central and eastern North Carolina.
ATLANTA (October 21, 2015)—This year’s annual Homecare Champion Award will go to brothers Joey Tart and Billy Tart, co-founders of Family Medical Supply, Inc., a home oxygen and home medical equipment company with 17 locations throughout central and eastern North Carolina.
As the national competitive bidding rollout approaches, many HME providers are looking toward a more diversified payer mix
AAHomecare is proud to announce a win for rehab suppliers on preserving miscellaneous codes!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 6, 2015)—The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a preliminary list of what they consider rural zip codes. The rural areas in these ZIP codes will receive a ten percent add-on when competitive bidding rates go into effect nationwide on January 1, 2016.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 30, 2015)—The “golden commode” era is part of HME’s distant past, but leadership in the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) may well be entering a golden age. Call it a critical mass of knowledge, experience, and the right mix of optimism and realism.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 30, 2015)—Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) continues to seek co-sponsors for H.R. 3229, legislation to protect access to complex rehab wheelchair accessories by preventing the application of prices derived from the Medicare competitive bidding program. Currently, the co-sponsor tally stands at 18.