WASHINGTON, DC – The House and Senate passed COVID-19-related stimulus legislation last week, and it was signed by President Trump on March 27. The legislation includes provisions impacting the HME sector.

According to AAHomecare, those provisions include:

• extending the 50/50 blended rate for rural suppliers through the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), and also provides better rates (a blend using 75% current adjusted rates and 25% unadjusted rates) for suppliers in non-rural non-bid areas during that period. This relief is retroactive to March 6; and
• eliminating the 2 percent Medicare sequester reduction that went into effect in 2013. This relief will be effective for May 1-Dec. 31, 2020.

With regards to the rural/non-bid area relief legislation, AAHomecare’s contacts on Capitol Hill have pointed out that the PHEs for Zika and H1N1 outbreaks lasted for 360 and 450 days, respectively—although the duration of the current emergency is impossible to predict.

Specific legislative language for these two provisions can be found here.
The full legislative text (880 page) can be found here.