WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 9, 2016)—When the Medicare program implements changes to how it pays for medical care or equipment, CMS monitors to make sure that any adjustments meet our goals of preserving access to care and facilitating better health outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries.
CMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 9, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today released a final rule improving how Medicare pays Accountable Care Organizations in the Medicare Shared Savings Program for delivering better patient care. Medicare is moving away from paying for each service a physician provides towards a system that rewards physicians for coordinating with each other.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 9, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation’s leading home oxygen therapy provider and manufacturing companies—commended lawmakers in the House Ways & Means Health Subcommittee for reviewing legislation to sustain and improve the Medicare program, including the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act (PADME).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 8, 2016)—A newly released GAO report, “Medicare: Utilization and Expenditures for Complex Wheelchair Accessories,” was presented to Congress on June 1, 2016, just 30 days before prices derived from CMS’s flawed bidding program for home medical equipment are set to take effect for specialized complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchairs used by individuals with profound mobility and disability challenges.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 2, 2016)—The count is at 30 days until the July 1 cuts take effect, and AAHomecare is calling the HME community to commit to making every last effort to encourage Congress to support legislation for rural relief—The Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment (PADME) Acts, H.R. 5210 and S. 2736.
DALLAS (June 1, 2016)—Rising numbers of retirees and excess cost growth have made it imperative that changes be made to Medicare’s financing—or the cost burden will crush taxpayers, according to a new study by NCPA Senior Fellows Andrew J. Rettenmaier and Thomas R. Saving.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 27, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation’s leading home respiratory therapy providers and manufacturing companies—warned that findings released from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) signal fundamental flaws in the competitive bidding rate setting process for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 26, 2016)—The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health & Human Services today released a report that raises more concerns about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) ill-conceived competitive bidding program for home medical equipment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 26, 2016)—A group of national and state associations sent a letter to Congressional leaders today urging passage of the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act of 2016 (S.2736 and H.R. 5210), bipartisan legislation that would ensure continued patient access to vital health care technology.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 26, 2016)—Some contract suppliers in Round 2 of the Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program had not met all of the competitive bidding licensure requirements. Specifically, of the 146 suppliers covered in our audit, 69 suppliers met licensure requirements. However, 63 suppliers did not meet licensure requirements for some of the competitions for which they received a contract.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 24, 2016)—CMS’s recently published statement on Medicare assignment rate information is grossly inadequate for evaluating the impact of the first round of deep competitive-bidding derived pricing cuts on patients in rural and non-bid areas. CMS’s report is vague and fails to provide important details:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 18, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) today cautioned that data released from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) do not fully reflect the true impact of Medicare cuts recently imposed on Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics & Supplies (DMEPOS), including home-based respiratory therapies.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 18, 2016)—Starting in 2011, section 1834(a)(1)(F) of the Social Security Act (the Act) required CMS to use competitive bidding to set payment amounts for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) for certain areas in the country.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 13, 2016)—The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare—a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality, and efficiency of home health care for our nation's seniors—recently expressed deep concern regarding the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposal to require the prior authorization of Medicare home health services.
Washington, D.C. (May 12, 2016)—The highly anticipated companion bill to S. 2736, the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment (PADME) Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives on Thursday, May 12, 2016. H.R. 5210 was introduced by Representatives Tom Price, M.D. (R-Ga.) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa). This bill has gathered broad bi-partisan support as it has been introduced with 40 original co-sponsors including Reps.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 12, 2016)—Today CMS published a revision to SE1521, which places limits on the scope of review for redeterminations and reconsiderations of certain claims. When this was originally published in 2015, AAHomecare worked with CMS to have the instruction expanded to include complex prepayment audits.
This should be helpful as suppliers work through the audit and appeal process!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 12, 2016)—This week, AAHomecare submitted comments on the proposed demonstration to revise Part B Medicare prescription drug payments under the Agency’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 5, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Round 2 Recompete and national mail-order recompete contract suppliers for Medicare’s Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (May 4, 2016)—The Board of Certification/Accreditation’s (BOC) Board of Directors recently approved a plan to sunset the acceptance of new applications for its orthotist (BOCO), prosthetist (BOCP) and pedorthist (BOCPD) certifications. The decision will lead to greater growth opportunities for the organization and streamline the professions’ credentialing options.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 20, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Office of Minority Health released data detailing the quality of care received by people with Medicare Advantage by racial or ethnic group.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 20, 2016)—Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee have asked the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to delay the next round of bidding-derived reimbursement cuts for rural and non-bid areas for an additional twelve months and to disclose specific indicators the agency is using to monitor possible beneficiary access issues under the Medicare bidding program for home medical equipment.