TALLAHASSEE, FL – Following a four-year advocacy effort led by AAHomecare, in partnership with FAHCS, Florida legislators approved a 7.5% Medicaid Fee Schedule rate increases for home medical equipment providers as part of FY 2023-24 budget legislation. This is the first DME Medicaid rate increase in 23 years in the state.

The effort was so persuasive that the increase was included in the proposed budgets of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, the Governor’s budget, and for both chambers of the Florida legislature. The rate increase goes into effect October 1.

In addition, proviso language states that this increase must be passed along from Managed Care Organizations (MCO) to home medical equipment providers. MCOs manage 73% of the Medicaid population in Florida. AAHomecare will work closely with the Department leadership to ensure smooth execution of the increase. You can see more in AAHomecare’s May 12 press release.

Ohio Suppliers Set to Receive Second Tranche of ARPA Relief

COLUMBUS, OH – The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) announced that it received CMS approval to release the second half of the managed care portion of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) relief payments to healthcare providers, including DMEPOS suppliers. The relief is based on Medicaid managed care claims paid from 7/1/2020 through 6/30/2021.

ODM’s announcement notes that it is “highly likely that providers will receive multiple checks from multiple plans,” and suggests that providers log into the ARPA Provider Relief Dashboard to determine totals due by each MCO.

The managed care-based relief follows ARPA relief calculated on fee-for-service claims that Ohio providers received in March 2022. AAHomecare is proud to have helped support OAMES executive director Kam Yuricich and her leadership team’s persistent outreach to policymakers that resulted in this significant relief for Ohio suppliers.