WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb, 14, 2013—AAHomecare recently met with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) in Chicago to discuss ways to work together to better educate sleep physicians to comply with Medicare’s complex documentation requirements justifying medical necessity for Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) devices.
Alan Dupuis
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 14, 2013—Join AAHomecare on March 19 from 5:30–7:00 p.m. during Medtrade Spring for the Stand Up for Homecare Reception, South Pacific F, Mandalay Bay. Be a part of the home care sector’s premier advocacy event. Meet with industry leaders and Stand Up for Homecare. Support AAHomecare’s effort to get factual, positive information about home care to the people who need to hear it most, Congress and the media.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 7, 2013—The American Association for Homecare has been pushing House and Senate lawmakers to get some answers from CMS about Round 2 of competitive bidding, while at the same time the association is building its case that last week’s pricing announcement is leading to an almost certain implosion of the country's home care system.
WASHINGTON, DC, February 5, 2013—The plummeting reimbursement rates set by Medicare for Durable Medical Equipment (DME) demonstrate why its procurement system for home medical equipment is a defective process likely to produce troubling results.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 7, 2013—AAHomecare is collecting data on the impact of the recently released Round 2 competitive bidding payment rates through CBRound2Problems@aahomecare.org. To ensure that CMS and members of Congress understand exactly how devastating the impending cuts will be to the industry and to beneficiary access, please send the following information to the email address above-remember to remove any information that might violate privacy laws:
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 1, 2013—It’s hard to recall a week with worse news for the home care community than what occurred last Wednesday with the CMS announcement about Round 2 prices. Home care providers pride themselves in meeting Medicare’s requirements by supplying top quality products with attention to first-rate service and professionalism. An approach to their business that focuses on the Medicare beneficiary is the key to success for many home care companies.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 16, 2013—Last week the American Association for Homecare met with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to discuss the post-payment audit problems that homecare providers face. GAO, which is the investigative arm of Congress charged with examining matters relating to the receipt and payment of public funds, is likely to issue a report on audits of Medicare providers later this year.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 16, 2013—The next few months are critical if the homecare community is to be successful in enacting the Market Pricing Program. The much-needed MPP legislation—in which Congress would force CMS to implement an alternative to the current bidding system—should be the prime focus of homecare companies in the first quarter of 2013. AAHomecare will host a webinar on Friday Jan. 24, 2013, from 3 to 4:30 p.m.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 10, 2013—The American Association for Homecare is pleased to announce that Rachel Prager has joined its government relations team as manager of regulatory affairs. She will be working on a range of Medicare regulatory and audit issues on behalf of AAHomecare members.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 19, 2012—In recent weeks, many state delegations of home-care providers have visited or called lawmakers in Washington to urge them to support H.R. 6490, the bill that would replace with existing bidding system with the Market Pricing Program. Results of that hard work are visible this week: Three more Democrats and four more Republicans have signed on to the bill, bringing the total to 87. New cosponsors include:
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 13, 2012—AAHomecare recently asked the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for relief from Recovery Audit Contractors for recoupments on submitted claims when the anniversary billing date overlaps with a Medicare Part A stay (i.e., skilled nursing facility or hospital stay).
WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 5, 2012—As waves of audits continue to slam the home care sector, the AAHomecare Regulatory Council recently wrapped up a two-day work session at its headquarters in Washington. The top focus has been audit issues including lowering error rates, auditor oversight, and face-to-face exam educational materials.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 29, 2012—AAHomecare announces the webinar “Nuts and Bolts Approach to Implementing a Successful Compliance Program” Dec. 11 from 2:30-4:00p.m. ET. The OIG has stressed the importance of compliance programs for HME companies by issuing guidance on how the programs should be structured and implemented. Congress has also weighed in through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which makes compliance programs mandatory for homecare companies.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 29, 2012—An article in the Skokie (Illinois) Review profiles the problems that Medicare’s bidding program has created for a type of walker used by beneficiaries with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease. The article begins: “Jonathan Miller created a walker more than 20 years ago to help his mother, but once he developed that product into a Skokie business, it became indispensable for many with neurological diseases.”
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2012—Millions of seniors and people living with disabilities will enjoy Thanksgiving and other holidays in the comfort and safety of their own homes thanks to home medical equipment and services such as oxygen therapy, hospital beds and wheelchairs. Home-based care allows people to live independently at home, which is the most cost-effective setting for many types of care, says the American Association for Homecare. Facts about home care:
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 14, 2012—More than 30 patient advocacy and consumer groups endorsed a bill in Congress that would replace Medicare's current "competitive bidding" program for durable medical equipment with a better market pricing system that preserves access to homecare. Millions of Americans use medically required durable medical equipment and services at home, including oxygen therapy, wheelchairs, and hospital beds.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 14, 2012—According to the American Association for Homecare, if you need yet another reason to be worried about the expansion of competitive bidding and regulatory burdens on HME, here it is.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 7, 2012—Due to the effects of the superstorm that has crippled many areas in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will issue guidance to its contractors to temporarily suspend all audit activity for a period of at least 30 days. The CMS directive is effective immediately.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 31, 2012—In an October 31 letter to Congressman Tom Price (R-Ga.), 31 consumer and patient groups expressed their deep concerns about the current Medicare bidding program for HME and their support for the Market Pricing Program (MPP) to replace it.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 31, 2012—According to the American Association for Homecare, dozens of home medical equipment providers on the Eastern Seaboard are in full emergency response mode as power outages, downed trees and wires and flooding complicate their ability to get medical oxygen and other home medical equipment and services to seniors and people with disabilities.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 24, 2012—In an update issued Monday, CMS states that the DME MACs will have discretion to change a nonaffirmative prior authorization (PA) request to affirmative upon verification that the reviewer of the request made a clerical error without requiring the HME provider to resubmit.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 24, 2012—AAHomecare will offer the “Innovative Marketing and Joint Ventures…Within Legal Parameters” webinar with Jeffrey Baird Oct. 30, 2012, from 2:30-4 p.m. The HME the industry has been hit with breathtaking legislative and regulatory changes. Now more than ever, in order to succeed providers must have an innovative marketing program to enter into strategic joint ventures and relationships with referral sources.