This nation is on the brink of national healthcare reform, a discussion which homecare providers cannot afford to be absent. To facilitate these discussions, AAHomecare is hosting a one day fly-in program in Washington on Wednesday, February 11. The one day fly-in program will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, Arlington, Va.—a short shuttle ride from Reagan National Airport. The program will include issue briefings and discussion until 9:15 a.m. and then House and Senate meetings beginning at 10 a.m.
Participants are asked to schedule their meetings with congressional offices, with guidance from AAHomecare. For some states, the meetings will be scheduled by the state homecare associations. If you are interested in participating, please register online today by visiting the AAHomecare Calendar of Events at www.aahomecare.org. If you are coordinating the Capitol Hill appointments for your state, please post your requests and confirmed meetings in the comments section of this blog.
For more details on the issues facing the HME sector, please visit AAHomecare's website, www.aahomecare.org.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
NY Times' Blogger Captures Essence of Homecare
New York Times' blogger Jane Gross captures the importance of homecare in the continuum of care for health through her recent post titled “Why House Calls Save Money.” In this story she speaks with Dr. Resnick, a physician in New York. Dr. Resnick states, “Much of health care that is now delivered in institutions —hospitals and nursing home — should be provided at home.”
As outlined in the blog, various medical journals have published articles showing that keeping geriatric patients out of the hospital reduces costs between 30 and 60 percent and good home-based care dramatically reduces the amount of time people spend in hospitals.
To read the full posting, visit: http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/why-house-calls-save-money/?hp.
As outlined in the blog, various medical journals have published articles showing that keeping geriatric patients out of the hospital reduces costs between 30 and 60 percent and good home-based care dramatically reduces the amount of time people spend in hospitals.
To read the full posting, visit: http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/why-house-calls-save-money/?hp.
Monday, January 12, 2009
AP Article Highlights Key Issues for Home Patients Whose Devices Depend on Electricity
A national Associated Press article today discussed the emergency needs of homecare patients, and especially oxygen users, who depend on electricity. Roughly 2 million people use home oxygen machines, most of which require electricity. A power outage could be deadly to these homecare patients.
The article states, “When it comes to oxygen, many home health care companies "bend over backward" to race tanks to customers during power outages, noted Washington's Rubinson."
A reference to AAHomecare's request for oxygen providers to be designated as first responders during natural disasters is also mentioned within the article.
For the full text see: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grvhaVD9z8kT-Fr13MFzz608pESQD95LFUDO0.
The article states, “When it comes to oxygen, many home health care companies "bend over backward" to race tanks to customers during power outages, noted Washington's Rubinson."
A reference to AAHomecare's request for oxygen providers to be designated as first responders during natural disasters is also mentioned within the article.
For the full text see: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5grvhaVD9z8kT-Fr13MFzz608pESQD95LFUDO0.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Surety Bond Applies One-Size-Fits-All Approach to Providers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final rule Monday, December 30, implementing a requirement that mandates home medical equipment providers to furnish CMS with a $50,000 surety bond in order to participate in the Medicare program. This rule implements provisions included in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.
In its analysis of the rule, CMS states that HME provider costs for securing a bond will be approximately $1,500 per year. The Agency also estimates that as many as 25,188 DMEPOS providers will exit Medicare due to the combined costs of the surety bond and accreditation requirements.
"We are concerned that overly burdensome requirements applying a one-size-fits-all approach will harm legitimate homecare providers," American Association for Homecare President Tyler J. Wilson, told the Associated Press in an article about the surety bond changes that was printed in Forbes and other newspapers across the nation.
The Association has been on record as supporting effective methods to eliminate fraud in the DMEPOS arena and has developed a 13-point plan targeting Medicare waste, fraud and abuse. The Association’s proposal targets efforts at the most vulnerable aspects of the program such as requiring mandatory site inspections for all new home medical equipment providers, requiring a six-month trial period for new homecare providers, and establishing real-time auditing to identify aberrant Medicare billing as it is occurring. The Association’s proposal can be viewed at www.aahomecare.org.
To view the Associated Press article visit: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/12/31/ap5871847.html.
In its analysis of the rule, CMS states that HME provider costs for securing a bond will be approximately $1,500 per year. The Agency also estimates that as many as 25,188 DMEPOS providers will exit Medicare due to the combined costs of the surety bond and accreditation requirements.
"We are concerned that overly burdensome requirements applying a one-size-fits-all approach will harm legitimate homecare providers," American Association for Homecare President Tyler J. Wilson, told the Associated Press in an article about the surety bond changes that was printed in Forbes and other newspapers across the nation.
The Association has been on record as supporting effective methods to eliminate fraud in the DMEPOS arena and has developed a 13-point plan targeting Medicare waste, fraud and abuse. The Association’s proposal targets efforts at the most vulnerable aspects of the program such as requiring mandatory site inspections for all new home medical equipment providers, requiring a six-month trial period for new homecare providers, and establishing real-time auditing to identify aberrant Medicare billing as it is occurring. The Association’s proposal can be viewed at www.aahomecare.org.
To view the Associated Press article visit: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/12/31/ap5871847.html.
George Will's Column on Medicare Bidding Program Leaves out the Facts
On January first, George Will, an op-ed columnist for the Washington Post, published a column about Michael Leavitt’s (secretary of Health and Human Services) predictions on the rising cost of health care. In Will’s column he says, “Medicare is a price-fixing system for upward of 12,000 procedures and drug codes -- and for hundreds of categories of equipment, the providers of which tenaciously oppose competition. Leavitt began implementing a tiny program of competitive bidding covering just 10 products in 10 cities. Based on the 15 days it lasted before Congress repealed it, savings were projected to be substantial. That is why equipment providers got it repealed."
The American Association for Homecare believes otherwise. The bidding program was not, in fact, repealed by Congress. The word repeal is used twice by Will. It was only slightly reformed and delayed by the Medicare Improvements to Patients and Providers Act of 2008 in order to fix problems because the implementation of the program was a train wreck, as Democrats and Republicans in Congress can attest.
The substantial savings the program were to have reaped will in fact be reaped, dollar for dollar, via a nationwide reimbursement cut to home medical equipment of 9.5 percent that kicks in today, January 1. In other words, the home medical sector is saving Medicare every dollar projected to be saved in order to make the bidding program fair and transparent.
Describing the program as "tiny" is wrong. The 10 home medical categories covered in the bidding program represent the lion's share of the spending in this sector. The initial 10 metro areas would be followed quickly by another 70 areas.
The truth is home medical equipment providers compete on the basis of service since Medicare sets prices. Home medical providers offer what Leavitt himself has called a "radically more efficient" and cost-effective form of healthcare than institutional care for Medicare beneficiaries.
Home medical equipment and therapies require many ongoing services that are not recognized by Medicare. Reimbursing oxygen therapy, for instance, as if it were merely a piece of equipment is not only inaccurate, it may well lead to dangerous lapses in attention and services that COPD patients require.
Here's the real story: Home medical equipment represents less than 2 percent of Medicare spending and it's the slowest-growing sector. But it's a big part of the answer to our healthcare financing challenges. It's not the problem -- not by a long shot.
To read George Will’s piece in the Washington Post visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/31/AR2008123102778.html. The association also encourages you to comment online.
The American Association for Homecare believes otherwise. The bidding program was not, in fact, repealed by Congress. The word repeal is used twice by Will. It was only slightly reformed and delayed by the Medicare Improvements to Patients and Providers Act of 2008 in order to fix problems because the implementation of the program was a train wreck, as Democrats and Republicans in Congress can attest.
The substantial savings the program were to have reaped will in fact be reaped, dollar for dollar, via a nationwide reimbursement cut to home medical equipment of 9.5 percent that kicks in today, January 1. In other words, the home medical sector is saving Medicare every dollar projected to be saved in order to make the bidding program fair and transparent.
Describing the program as "tiny" is wrong. The 10 home medical categories covered in the bidding program represent the lion's share of the spending in this sector. The initial 10 metro areas would be followed quickly by another 70 areas.
The truth is home medical equipment providers compete on the basis of service since Medicare sets prices. Home medical providers offer what Leavitt himself has called a "radically more efficient" and cost-effective form of healthcare than institutional care for Medicare beneficiaries.
Home medical equipment and therapies require many ongoing services that are not recognized by Medicare. Reimbursing oxygen therapy, for instance, as if it were merely a piece of equipment is not only inaccurate, it may well lead to dangerous lapses in attention and services that COPD patients require.
Here's the real story: Home medical equipment represents less than 2 percent of Medicare spending and it's the slowest-growing sector. But it's a big part of the answer to our healthcare financing challenges. It's not the problem -- not by a long shot.
To read George Will’s piece in the Washington Post visit: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/31/AR2008123102778.html. The association also encourages you to comment online.
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