LAS VEGAS – Medtrade Spring is here and Stand Up for Homecare is back to help consumer, patient, and advocacy groups that serve as advocacy partners.
The event is Tuesday, March 1, at 5:30 p.m., in Tradewinds D. Tickets CAN be purchased at the door, but it’s recommended that you purchase tickets in advance at the main registration desk at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
Proceeds also fund additional media relations efforts, research, grassroots outreach and coalition-building aimed at enhancing the reputation of the home medical equipment sector in the eyes of audiences on Capitol Hill and in the media.
If you think it’s important to help AAHomecare build better relationships with influential patient organizations, and spread the word about the critical products and services the HME community provides, join the companies and individuals who stand up for homecare.
Register online here, or as part of your Medtrade registration, you can also find a form to send by fax, regular mail, or scan into an email here, along with details on sponsorship opportunities.
AAHomecare to Detail Legislative & Regulatory Priorities at Medtrade Spring
LAS VEGAS – Reining in the competitive bidding program and securing meaningful audit reform remain top advocacy priorities for the HME sector for 2016 and beyond. AAHomecare will share their ongoing plans for addressing these issues, and for breaking down other regulatory hurdles that restrict patient access to home medical equipment, at the Washington Update during Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas.
While 2015 saw the first meaningful win on the bidding program in the form of legislation to reduce the influence of speculative and non-licensed bidders on the process, there are still major issues with the program that need fixing.
Tom Ryan, AAHomecare president, and Jay Witter, senior vice president of Public Policy (pictured) will talk about the challenges ahead as advocates work with Congressional champions to build on last year’s efforts to provide relief for rural bidders under the bidding program, and to fix CMS’ baffling decision to set bid ceilings for subsequent bidding rounds at the rates set in the previous round.
Other issues covered will include recent coding changes that are causing significant challenges for ventilator patients and providers, as well as efforts to keep CMS from applying bidding-derived rates to complex rehab accessories.
Kim Brummett, vice president for Regulatory Affairs, will discuss what’s ahead for prior authorization, face-to-face requirements, and continued efforts to bring more transparency, consistency and common sense to the various CMS audits covering the HME sector.
The Washington Update is designed to present an insider’s view of what’s ahead for our industry at regulatory agencies and in Congress, and to help prepare you to join in our efforts to deliver better public policy for HME providers and patients nationwide. If you’ve always wanted to become more informed about legislative and regulatory advocacy efforts, the Washington Update is the place to start.
Please note: this event is open to AAHomecare members and non-members alike, so please encourage your peers to join you at this session, even if they are not currently part of the Association.
Tuesday, March 1, 8:00 am – 9:30 a.m.
Room: Islander E
Use #MedtradeSpring16 for all show-related social media.
MAMES Highlights Rural Rollout Miseries in Missouri Newspaper
PERRYVILLE, MO – The consequences of cuts to HME rural providers as bidding-derived pricing is widely applied nationwide will ultimately be paid with a human cost. This recent article in the Southeast Missourian documents how Medicare cuts hit home for medical-equipment users, and suppliers, and quotes a caregiver whose husband is dependent on a Medicare-provided ventilator and who put her fears in stark terms: “They are just more or less writing people’s death sentences.”
Patrick Naeger, executive vice president of Healthcare Equipment & Supply in Perryville, Mo, and president of the Midwest Association of Medical Equipment Services sparked the paper’s interest in the story, and also made an appearance on local radio to discuss the issue. Naeger is quoted extensively in the article, calling the cuts “brutally harmful to some of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Death sentences, brutally harmful – these words ring hard on the ears, but they belie a simple truth: drastic bidding-derived price cuts will be unsustainable for many providers serving patients across a wide service area.
AAHomecare and other industry stakeholders are currently engaged on Capitol Hill in developing legislation that will both hold the line on further rural cuts, and also make changes to the program that will make future bidding rounds fairer. AAHomecare officials hope that providers will once again join in making the case for fixing the bidding program to Congressional representatives, to newspapers, and to local patient and stakeholder groups.
