WASHINGTON, D.C. – The delay in issuing a final rule offers an opportunity for continued CBP advocacy. As we shared last week, CMS has not released the 2026 DMEPOS/Home Health Final Rule, which was widely expected to come out by October 31.

AAHomecare is using this opportunity to continue making the case directly to leaders in the Administration and CMS, as well as encouraging Capitol Hill and our patient-group allies to amplify our high-tempo lobbying efforts on the flawed framework and new product categories proposed for a re-started Competitive Bidding Program (CBP).

We have confirmation that our messages are being heard by Administration decision-makers – but we need more voices to weigh in to make sure that policymakers appreciate the urgency and high stakes for the DME community and the patients we support.

We ask that DME stakeholders continue to press their Senators and Representatives to contact CMS and Administration contacts on the need to pause implementation of DMEPOS provisions in the proposed rule – you can find specific messaging and additional tips and resources for contacting Congressional healthcare staff here.

AAHomecare is leaving it all on the field when it comes to engaging policymakers and enlisting others to carry our message to the Administration wherever we can. Join us by adding your voice, experience, and passion – and keep fighting for DME.

600+ DME Stakeholders Ask CMS to Re-Engage on Bidding Program

Tools for Your Outreach – High Impact DME Industry and Congressional Sign on Letters 
The AAHomecare team and leadership are energized by the incredible support for our industry sign on letter to CMS Administrator Oz on the CPB provisions in the Proposed Rule. More than 600 companies and organizations signed on to the letter over the course of just three-and-a-half days’ time.  The letter concludes with a clear ask:

We respectfully urge CMS to withdraw or delay the DMEPOS provisions of CMS-1828-P and re-engage with industry, patient, and clinical stakeholders to design an evidence-based, fraud-resistant, America-First framework. A renewed partnership that enlists those who build, distribute, and service this equipment will yield far stronger results than a rule developed in isolation.

You can share the letter as part of your outreach to Congressional healthcare staffers, or one of the other recent letters (see below) to the Administration stemming from our recent work on Capitol Hill.

House Sign-on Letter – this letter, spearheaded by Reps. Dan Meuser (R-PA) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), includes the potential impacts of the bidding rule on small businesses:

Small businesses would be particularly harmed as participation consolidates among a few large suppliers, displacing community-based providers that employ local workers and serve seniors and veterans directly. The rule also lacks important small business protections which were included during the first Trump Administration that ensured Main Street would not be harmed in a nationwide bid program. These businesses and skilled workers, once lost, seldom return.

Diabetes Caucus Letter – following on our engagement in recent weeks with members of House/Senate Diabetes Caucus, the Co-Chairs of this bipartisan group raise multiple concerns with proposals to add continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and insulin pumps to the bidding program and asks CMS not to move forward with adding these products. Issues raised in the letter include limiting the number of suppliers, reduced choice of products, impacts on innovation, and disruption of patient access.

House Sign on Letter on Supplies in CBP – Reps. Neal Dunn (R-FL) and Gregory Murphy (R-NC) led a letter to CMS seeking the removal of ostomy, urological, and tracheostomy supplies from the CBP proposal. Their letter asserts that these products are not appropriate for a “lowest bidder” procurement model, and instead asserts that “They are highly individualized prosthetics, which replace or restore critical bodily functions. The precise fit and clinical appropriateness of these products are matters of life and death for millions of Medicare beneficiaries.”

You’re encouraged to share any and all of these letters with your legislators to support your ask to withdraw or pause implementation of the DMEPOS provisions in the Final Rule.

NOTE: As of 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 6, the Final Rule had not been released.