Medicaid

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 22, 2021)—AAHomecare’s payer relations team is working with state association leaders in Oklahoma, Florida and New York on legislation with potential major impacts for home medical equipment suppliers and patients. If you are located in one of these states, please weigh in on these rapidly moving issues as soon as possible, and encourage your friends and colleagues in those states to do so, as well.

MIRAMAR, Fla. (April 12, 2021)—onehome, a leader in post-acute home-based care (PAHC), is partnering with Devoted Health, one of the fastest-growing Medicare Advantage companies in the United States, to expand care to Devoted Health's members in Arizona, Ohio and San Antonio, Texas.

Updated April 19, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. CDT, to include quote from AAHomecare.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 1, 2021)—Industry advocates are lauding President Joe Biden's newly-released infrastructure plan, which includes $400 billion dollars for home- and community-based care for seniors and people with disabilities; it would also increase wages for in-home caregivers. 

BALA CYNWYD, Penn. & ALBANY, N.Y. (March 26, 2021)—Connect America, a nationally recognized provider of connected health solutions, announced that the New York City, Department of Social Services, Human Resources Administration (DSS) awarded the company a three-year contract to provide personal emergency response systems (PERS) and smoke detectors to Medicaid recipients in New York City.
 

NEW YORK (March 17, 2021)—ArchCare, the Archdiocese of New York’s health care system that cares for more than 9,000 seniors, the poor and persons with special needs, has partnered with Ride Health to launch a technology-based smart transportation system to provide non-emergency patient transportation for its PACE (Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) participants across the greater New York City area.
 

AUSTIN, Texas (February 19, 2021)—The American Association of HomeCare (AAHomecare) has asked the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to implement processes to ensure that medically fragile children covered under the state’s Star Kids program can continue to be served by their current durable medical equipment (DME) supplier if a change in providers is deemed to potentially subject the patient to unnecessary risk.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 16, 2021)—With the next COVID-19 relief package currently under development and possibly coming with a significant price tag—upwards of $1.9 trillion as requested by the Biden administration—many elected officials and stakeholder groups are proposing increased funding to Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS).

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (January 13, 2021)—On January 8, the State of Tennessee announced that its “block grant” waiver request for TennCare (the state Medicaid program) was approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) after a year of negotiation. This new agreement will allow TennCare to administer the program with less oversight from the federal government and is intended to give more flexibility.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 4, 2021)—President Donald J. Trump signed legislation in late December to fund U.S. federal government operations through the 2021 Fiscal Year and provide $900 billion of stimulus supports to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. NAHC has provided the following summary of the over 5600-page legislation.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 17, 2020)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is expressing support for two measures that would improve reimbursement and respite care services.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 17, 2020)—AAHomecare joined the Home Medical Equipment and Services Association of New England (HOMES) in commenting on Medicaid rate analysis commissioned by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to help guide future rate-setting efforts. The joint comments take issue with the choice of states used for comparison purposes, noting significant differences in the service areas and Medicaid program operating structures versus those in Maine.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 8, 2020)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has joined with other likeminded organizations to urgently ask Congress to consider the overlooked needs of the disabled and elderly when considering any upcoming COVID relief.

RICHMOND, Va. (November 20, 2020)—Governor Ralph Northam has signed Virginia’s 2021-2022 budget containing an amendment requiring Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) to reimburse home medical equipment (HME) providers at a minimum of 90% of the State’s Medicaid fee schedule effective July 1, 2021.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 24, 2020)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the availability of up to $165 million in supplemental funding to states currently operating Money Follows the Person (MFP) demonstration programs. This funding will help state Medicaid programs jump-start efforts to transition individuals with disabilities and older adults from institutions and nursing facilities to home and community-based settings of their choosing.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 28, 2020)—The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) submitted a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar on the need for clear and timely guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to state Medicaid and CHIP programs when HHS elects to end the current public health emergency (PHE).

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced an application deadline extension for the Phase 2 general distribution to Medicaid, Medicaid managed care, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and dental providers, as part of an effort to provide financial relief to health care providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.