WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 15, 2021)—AAHomecare’s has membership approved a new leadership slate, re-electing Bill Guidetti (executive vice president, East Zone, Apria Healthcare—Red Bank, New Jersey) as chairman of the board and also approving two home medical equipment industry leaders to officer roles:
Josh Marx, managing director and vice president, Medical Service Company
AAHomecare vice chair
Cleveland, Ohio
ARLINGTON, Va. (June 1, 2021)—Home medical equipment (HME) suppliers in rural and other non-bid areas received significant support in the April 2020 Cares Act through measures that extended the 50/50 blended rate for rural suppliers through the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and for the first time provided a 75/25 rate (a blend using 75% current adjusted rates and 25% unadjusted rates) for suppliers in other non-bid areas for the duration of the PHE.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 25, 2021)—The Senate has confirmed Chiquita Brooks-LaSure as the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The vote was 55 to 44 in favor of her confirmation. Brooks-LaSure will be the first Black woman to hold the position.
Today, leaders in the homecare industry shared their reactions to the news.
BATON ROUGE, La. (May 21, 2021)—In a victory for home ventilator providers, the Louisiana House of Representative passed HB 594 on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. The legislation prevents insurers, MCOs and other payers from setting reimbursement caps for ventilators.
WASHINGTON, D.C (May 14, 2021)—Following the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to not implement bids set by Round 2021 for most product categories, home medical equipment (HME) suppliers remain subject to Medicare rates that are largely based on bids submitted in 2015.
ARLINGTON, Va. (May 11, 2021)—AAHomecare is currently accepting nominations for one open position on the board of directors. To be nominated, you must be an employee or owner of an AAHomecare member company in good standing.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 7, 2021)—Even as vaccination rates grow and new cases of COVID-19 are slowing nationwide, home medical equipment (HME) suppliers and manufacturers remain in the grip of another side effect of the pandemic: higher product costs and increased operational expenses.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 22, 2021)—AAHomecare is kicking off a sustained earned media campaign to build awareness of the essential, high-value care that the home medical equipment (HME) industry delivers. The campaign is led by Keybridge Communications, who will engage influential health care journalists as well as develop and place op-eds to highlight the industry’s important role in the health care continuum and make the case for HME policy priorities.
Updated April 14, 3:00 p.m. CST
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 14, 2021)—The House of Representatives passed an amended version of H.R. 1868 on April 12, extending the pause on the 2% Medicare sequester cuts through the remainder of 2021.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 31, 2021)—Last week, the Senate passed an amended version of H.R. 1868, extending the pause on 2% Medicare sequester cuts though the end of 2021. Without Congressional action, those cuts would go back into effect on April 1.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 25, 2021)—As previously reported, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published a new DMEPOS fee schedule for oxygen that reflects a long-sought fix for outdated budget neutrality provisions that was finally secured in December 2020 COVID-19 relief legislation. The updated rates, which go into effect on Apr.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 10, 2021)—With the moratorium on the 2% Medicare sequester cuts currently set to expire on March 31, the American Association for Homecare and health care sector coalition partners have redoubled efforts to engage legislators in support of extending the pause on these cuts.
As a result of this outreach, an updated bill that would extend the moratorium throughout the end of 2021 may be introduced as early as this week.
WASHINGTON, DC (February 26, 2021)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care—a coalition of the nation's leading home respiratory therapy providers and manufacturing companies—partnered with the American Association for Homecare and The VGM Group in sending a letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Acting Administrator Elizabeth Richter urging the agency to finalize the
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 26, 2021)—ResMed’s Vice President of Global Government Affairs and Market Access, Larissa D’Andrea, has accepted the open position on the Executive Committee for AAHomecare. The open position became available following another merger within the industry, and the association reached out to the talented and committed advocate to fill the position. D’Andrea most recently sat on the board of directors for the association.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 25, 2021)—The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) has moved their annual Legislative Conference to a virtual event, set to be held Sept. 29, 2021.
“While we are still not able to gather in person, a strong voice for HME in Washington remains a critical priority in advancing better public policy for our industry,” the association said in a press release.
AUSTIN, Texas (February 19, 2021)—The American Association of HomeCare (AAHomecare) has asked the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to implement processes to ensure that medically fragile children covered under the state’s Star Kids program can continue to be served by their current durable medical equipment (DME) supplier if a change in providers is deemed to potentially subject the patient to unnecessary risk.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 16, 2021)—In recognition of their dedication and knowledgeable contributions to our membership, AAHomecare staff David Chandler, Ashley Plauché, and Mina Uehara received promotions within the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 8, 2020)—On Dec. 21, 2020, both the House and Senate passed a COVID-19 relief bill that included provisions addressing a Medicare payment disparity for oxygen products in rural areas.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 18, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the CY 2021 Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) Fee Schedule. As of Jan. 1, 2021, CMS will continue to apply the CARES Act relief rates for rural and nonrural areas.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 17, 2020)—AAHomecare joined the Home Medical Equipment and Services Association of New England (HOMES) in commenting on Medicaid rate analysis commissioned by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to help guide future rate-setting efforts. The joint comments take issue with the choice of states used for comparison purposes, noting significant differences in the service areas and Medicaid program operating structures versus those in Maine.
