CMS

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 14, 2017)—CMS recently provided an update on a State Operational Technical Advisory (SOTA) call regarding CURES Medicaid provisions. AAHomecare was one of nearly 300 participants on the call, which was put together for the benefit of Medicaid program officials, but also included industry stakeholders.

Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 30, 2017)—As mandated in the December 2016 CURES bill, federal Medicaid reimbursement to states for home medical equipment cannot exceed what Medicare would have allowed for these items beginning on January 1, 2018.  

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (November 20, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) proposed rule for the 2019 Medicare Part D plan year includes important provisions to address concerns of independent community pharmacies and the patients they serve, raised by the National Community Pharmacists Association. In response, NCPA's Chief Executive Officer B. Douglas Hoey, Pharmacist, MBA, issued the following statement:

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 20, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule November 16, that includes a number of changes that, if finalized, will ensure that Part D Medicare enrollees have access to more affordable prescription drugs and more robust prescription drug coverage at the pharmacy they prefer. The rule also gives health plans a new tool to combat the opioid crisis.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 1, 2017)—The nation’s leading home health organizations, including the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (Partnership), the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and ElevatingHOME, commend the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for not finalizing the proposed Home Health Groupings Model (HHGM) in the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HHPPS) Proposed Rule for CY 2018.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 26, 2017)—The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (Partnership)—a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality and efficiency of home health care for our nation's seniors—today applauded a group of bipartisan U.S.

—Via CMS, WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 25, 2017)—The Qualified Independent Contractor (QIC), C2C Innovative Solutions, Inc., conducts reopenings under the Medicare Appeals Demonstration in Jurisdictions C and D. C2C is sending Reopening Document Request Letters for appeals that are selected for potential reopening as part of the Durable Medical Equipment (DME) formal telephone discussion demonstration.

Medicare and Medicaid Need Innovation
Trump’s HHS seeks to encourage health care competition. (Seema Verma/Wall Street Journal)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 20, 2017)—Today, the CMS Innovation Center (Innovation Center) issued an informal Request for Information (RFI) seeking feedback on a new direction to promote patient-centered care and test market-driven reforms that empower beneficiaries as consumers, provide price transparency, increase choices and competition to drive quality, reduce costs, and improve outcomes.

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 18, 2017)—AAHomecare continues to work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to find immediate solutions for HME providers serving patients in areas affected by Hurricane Irma. In a conversation with CMS today, the agency offered further resources and contact information for providers facing challenges caring for patients.


—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 11, 2017)—With policy changes on the horizon that could significantly harm Medicare’s home health benefit through significant payment cuts, nearly 150 representatives from home health, hospice and homecare agencies across the country gathered in Washington today to ask lawmakers to support efforts to protect the approximately 3.5 million Medicare beneficiaries who depend on home health.

CMS Expects Few Hospitals to Participate in Readmissions Experiment
Few providers are expected to volunteer for an experiment to help track unplanned readmissions and their causes, even though the pilot is a precursor for a mandatory change in how hospitals are penalized. (Virgil Dickson/Modern Healthcare)

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 7, 2017)—CMS has just released guidance covering replacements for lost/damaged DMEPOS items in the wake of a declared emergency.

—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 7, 2017)—CMS and AAHomcare are both dedicated to instituting policies that protect beneficiary and supplier communities that have been affected by Hurricane Harvey. Last week, AAHomecare and several members of the Regulatory Council met with CMS regarding emergency and disaster related policies and procedures.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 7, 2017)—Last Friday, AAHomecare chairman Steve Ackerman joined Tom Ryan, Jay Witter and Kim Brummett to present updated findings from our Patient Access Survey to CMS officials. Staff from our survey partner Dobson DaVanzo and counsel Foley & Hoag were also in attendance.