WASHINGTON, DC – Earlier this month, AAHomecare collaborated with CMS to organize an event to showcase the four e-prescribing platforms being used in the DME industry today. MITRE, the government contractor that has been tasked with doing an environmental scan on e-prescribing, requested meetings with e-prescribing companies to get an overview of their products. Companies including DME Hub, GoScripts, Parachute Health, and Stratice Healthcare each spent over an hour demonstrating how their platform works and the benefits it provides for the continuum of healthcare delivery. MITRE is expected to submit their report on e-prescribing to CMS in mid-August. AAHomecare plans to continue the dialogue on this important venture with MITRE and CMS this fall.

HME Community Evaluates Sole Source Beneficiary Impact

WASHINGTON, DC – Across the country, health care plans are looking for innovative, cost-effective solutions to meet members’ needs. However, a developing trend across the payor landscape, particularly in the Medicaid MCO space, is the application of sole source contracts and narrow network arrangements for the provisions of HME and related services. The HME industry and consumer groups have serious concerns about the shortcomings of such arrangements and the ultimate negative impact it will have on patients and payors alike.

As part of the Industry’s educational efforts to payors, AAHomecare’s Medical Supplies Council is conducting a survey to evaluate its impact on beneficiary access to care. Beneficiaries and case managers in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Texas are invited to take a brief survey to share their experience.  Information from these surveys will be used in outreach with payors to help preserve open access and ensure quality outcomes for individuals requiring HME, supplies, and services.

Additional information about the survey and how suppliers servicing those areas can assist is available here.  To help raise awareness and participation in the survey, suppliers could:

• Share respective survey links on social media platforms
• Share links to respective surveys to referral sources
• Engage area consumer advocacy groups to help raise awareness of the survey opportunity

Note, in accordance with HIPAA requirements, suppliers and other providers are prohibited from using customers’ e-mail addresses (or their family caregiver’s e-mail) for this purpose.  Survey responses are requested by August 31st.

For additional information on the survey, please contact Ashley Plauché, AAHomecare’s Manager of Government Affairs at [email protected].