—via AAHomecare
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 30, 2016)—We’re just two days away from the second phase of bidding-derived cuts for rural and non-bid area suppliers. With the House currently out of session, there’s no chance of action before July 1.
competitive bidding
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation’s leading home oxygen therapy provider and manufacturing companies—expressed disappointment that the U.S. House of Representatives did not pass the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment (PADME) Act (H.R. 5210) before adjourning. The PADME Act is pro-patient legislation to delay the phase-in of deep Medicare cuts to home respiratory care supplies and services.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2016)—Just minutes after AAHomecare updated members about the status of rural relief legislation on Capitol Hill, they received CMS’s announcement of the release of the 2016 DMEPOS fee schedule amounts set to take effect on July 1 for certain items outside of Competitive Bid Areas that were adjusted based on information from the bidding program.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announces the release of the July 2016 Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) fee schedule amounts. The fee schedule amounts are available here.
—via AAHomecare
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2016)—As reported to the AAHomecare membership Wednesday, we were successful in passing an amended version of S.2736 through the Senate via unanimous consent on Tuesday evening.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 23, 2016)—Legislation to delay a new round of cuts to rural and non-bid area suppliers and provide additional fixes to the Medicare competitive bidding program for home medical equipment (HME) was passed by the Senate late yesterday. The legislation (S. 2736), passed through the Senate via unanimous consent, would:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 22, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation’s leading home oxygen therapy provider and manufacturing companies—commended Senators John Thune and Heidi Heitkamp, as well as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, and their colleagues in the U.S.
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.
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. (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)—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 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 5, 2016)—The long-awaited House competitive-bidding rural relief and bid-ceiling fix bill is expected to drop next week—a current working draft of the legislation can be found here; it is the House companion to S. 2736.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 30, 2016)—With a July 1 deadline looming for additional Medicare reimbursement cuts for suppliers in rural and other non-bid areas, there’s an urgent need to get House companion legislation to S. 2736 introduced with a strong round of original co-sponsors.