WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 17, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced their strategy to implement the manual complex rehab technology (CRT) provisions that were incorporated in last month’s Omnibus Bill (HR 1865) that passed on Dec. 20, 2019.
AAHomecare
The legislation & regulation that made last year
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 18, 2019)—Provisions permanently excluding manual complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchairs from the competitive bidding program have been included in FY 2020 appropriations legislation. The legislation also exempts CRT manual accessories from bidding-derived pricing for an 18-month period, starting Jan. 1, 2020.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 12, 2019)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is requesting comments from the public on questions to include in their competitive bidding program survey to stakeholders. CMS is interested in surveying stakeholders such as beneficiaries, contract suppliers and discharge planners to monitor the program in real-time. These comments are due Friday, Dec. 20.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 5, 2019)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have posted the Notice of Preliminary Bid Evaluation (PBE) and sent emails for all bidders noting whether they have met bidding requirements in areas including PTAN status, surety bond, licensure and accreditation.
Spring Branch Medical Supply shares the art of caring for retail customers
WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 15, 2019)—AAHomecare and other home medical equipment industry leaders are looking to quickly build co-sponsor support for the recently introduced SMART Act (HR 4945) in the coming weeks to position the bill for inclusion in any potential healthcare omnibus legislation that takes shape in December or January.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 25, 2019)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) has responded to members of the House of Representatives who joined a Congressional sign-on letter asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS to reconsider plans to include non-invasive ventilators in Round 2021 of the competitive bidding program.
ATLANTA (October 22, 2019)—AAHomecare’s Washington Update on Day Two of Medtrade started with a moving tribute, a robust account of AAHomecare’s activities, and four women vying for VGM’s Woman of the Year Award.
ATLANTA (October 10, 2019)—HME leader and icon Karyn Estrella will be recognized as the 2019 Van G. Miller Homecare Champion at the upcoming Medtrade conference and expo in Atlanta, Georgia. The long-time leader of the Home Medical Equipment and Services Association of New England (HOMES), who passed away on July 4 of this year, is remembered for her passionate advocacy for better HME policies and her selfless contributions to our industry.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 27, 2019)—Reps. Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) have sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to their House peers urging them to co-sponsor H.R. 2771, the Protecting Home Oxygen and Medical Equipment Act of 2019.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 20, 2019)—The 2020 ESRD/DMEPOS Proposed Rule that was published on Aug. 6, includes changes to the gap filling framework, payment conditions, and change of ownership (CHOW) timeline. Below are high-level points AAHomecare will be making:
GAP-FILLING:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 20, 2019)—With the CB Round 2021 bid window closing Wednesday, The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) hopes to rally suppliers and other HME stakeholders to resume advocacy on HME policy priorities, including extending and expanding relief for non-bid rural suppliers (HR 2771), CRT-related legislation (HR 2293, S 1223, and HR 2408), and expected legislation on non-invasive ventilators in competitive bidding.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 5, 2019)—The American Association for Homecare’s (AAHomecare) newest council convened for the first time in Arlington, Virginia, last week and got off to a flying start. The initial meeting for the Payer Relations Council focused on establishing strategic objectives for 2020 and beginning to build the road map for the HME industry to succeed outside of the Medicare space.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2019)—On Aug.
Legislative efforts and new tools coming
RALEIGH, N.C. (July 19, 2019)—This week, the North Carolina State Legislature passed S. 523, tax and revenue legislation that includes provisions exempting medically-prescribed diapers and incontinence products covered under North Carolina Medicaid from state sales tax, effective Oct. 1, 2019.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 16, 2019)—Changes to the TRICARE regions to consolidate to two plans from the previous three plans have been fraught with provider network and claims processing issues. While AAHomecare has been contacted regarding these issues with both regions, the bulk of the issues have been with the TRICARE East contractor, Humana Military.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 11, 2019)—Efforts to protect access to manual complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchairs and accessories took another step forward today as the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee approved HR 2328, the "Reauthorizing and Extending America's Community Health Act'' (REACH Act). The bill includes similar language to HR 2293, legislation that AAHomecare and other mobility stakeholders have been supporting since its introduction in April.
Washington, D.C. (June 27, 2019)—Years of relationship-building between AAHomecare, the South Carolina Medical Equipment Services Association (SCMESA) and South Carolina Medicaid (SC Medicaid) is paying off for durable medical equipment (DME) providers in the state, AAHomecare reports.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 25, 2019)—More than 40% of the members of the United States House of Representatives have joined a letter asking federal regulators to keep noninvasive ventilators out of the next round of the competitive bidding program for HME.