WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 8, 2017)—AAHomecare’s Complex Rehab and Mobility Council (CRMC) has developed a new white paper that clearly explains the differences between complex rehab technology (CRT) and standard mobility products.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 12, 2017)—Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has been working on legislation to provide relief for non-CB areas and address the “double-dip” cuts on oxygen; you can see a draft of the legislation here.
—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 12, 2017)—Representatives Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) and John Larson (D-Conn) introduced legislation on Monday to exempt accessories for manual CRT wheelchairs from bidding-derived pricing with a strong, bipartisan roster of 42 original co-sponsors (23 Democrats, 19 Republicans). HR 3730 would complement earlier CMS action exempting accessories for group 3 power wheelchairs from bidding-derived pricing.
—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.
WATERLOO, Iowa (August 14, 2017)—U.S. Rehab, a division of the VGM Group Inc., released its white paper analyzing the current state of the DMEPOS industry.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 2, 2017)—AAHomecare’s Kim Brummett and Mina Uehara recently participated in a Government Accounting Office (GAO) interview regarding patient access in non-competitive bid areas and followed up with a letter to the Agency summarizing key points from the session. In discussing the effects on patient access since the 2016 cuts, AAHomecare notes:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 7, 2017)—TRICARE is issuing its first official acknowledgements that they will reprocess claims from July 1 through December 31, 2016 to reflect adjustments to the fee schedule mandated by last December’s CURES bill.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 29, 2017)—CMS released proposed 2018 changes to End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Prospective Payment System and related kidney/renal disease regulations.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 26, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that accessories for Group 3 power Complex Rehab Technology (CRT) mobility products will continue to remain exempt from the application of competitive bidding derived pricing for Medicare beneficiaries.
ROSEVILLE, Iowa (May 25, 2017)—In an effort spearheaded by Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Services (MAMES) and its president, Patrick Naeger, independent HME suppliers have gained the attention of the House Small Business Committee. Much like the concerns prompting a letter being circulated by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and others, the Small Business Committee is gravely concerned by the 38 percent reduction in providers in such a short period.
WATERLOO, Iowa (May 22, 2017)—If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine the power of a video. For years, clinicians and case managers have struggled to coordinate care for their Medicare patients who require home medical equipment, services, and supplies under the Competitive Bidding Program (CBP). Meanwhile, CMS reports that there are no issues with CBP and that access has been unaffected.
Washington D.C. (May 17, 2017)—A letter authored by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) is calling for reforms to policies and regulations involving durable medical equipment and complex rehab technology. The letter is to be sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and CMS Administrator Seema Verma.
—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 10, 2017)—On Monday, CGS, the DME MAC Jurisdiction C and B contractor announced that they are prepared to begin reprocessing claims that are subject to the CURES-mandated fee schedule adjustment. The mass adjustments will be conducted in batches. They will be processing claims five days a week and it is expected to take 24 weeks to complete. Jurisdiction C has approximately 4.7 million claims and is planning to reprocess 40,000 claims per day.
—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 10, 2017)—AAHomecare continues to press the case for longer-term relief for rural and non-bid area providers, as well as for significant structural improvements to the Competitive Bidding Program with Federal regulators.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
—Via AAHomecare WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 2, 2017)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated the fee schedule for rural and non-bid areas to adjust reimbursements to rural providers for products and services furnished between the July 1–December 31 period.
—Via AAHomecare, WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 26, 2017)—According to research AAHomecare had been performing using Medicare data, the number of traditional suppliers of home medical equipment to Medicare beneficiaries has dropped 40.9 percent since July 2013. In addition, the number of unique locations (commonly referred to as rooftops) serving Medicare beneficiaries has declined by 38.7 percent during the same period.
—via AAHomecare (March 23, 2017)—Earlier today AAHomecare shared HME industry recommendations for fixing significant problems with CMS’s DMEPOS competitive bidding program with HHS Secretary Tom Price. The recommendations focus on six major areas:
