At the American Association for Homecare Washington Legislative Conference this week, hundreds of homecare advocates will be on Capitol Hill to lobby Congress to preserve patient access to durable medical equipment in the home. Champions in Congress are responding positively to the prospect of meeting with their constituents and have
begun sending “Dear Colleague” letters on competitive bidding, the first month purchase option and oxygen.
Competitive Bidding System Designed to Put Small Businesses Out of Business
Representatives Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) have written a “Dear Colleague” asking for signatures on a letter to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requesting information on the impact of the DMEPOS competitive bidding program on the nation’s small business community. They currently have 14 signatures and are requesting AAHomecare members’ help in obtaining more signatures. Download the congressional sign-on letter here to print.
First Month Purchase Option
Representative Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and Sam Graves (R-Mo.) are distributing a Dear Colleague letter to members of the Small Business Committee asking them to sign a letter to the leadership and health subcommittee leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee. The letter expresses concerns about the potential elimination of the first month purchase option for power mobility devices (PMD) in this year’s Medicare package. The members explain that elimination of the first month purchase option would be especially harmful to small PMD suppliers and could cause many of them to end their participation in the Medicare program. AAHomecare encourages you to ask members of the Small Business Committee to sign on to this letter. View the Dear Colleague letter, congressional sign-on letter, and list of the members on the Small Business Committee.
Home Oxygen Therapy
Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kans.) have sent a letter to the Senate Budget Committee with 11 signatures. The letter urged them not to reduce reimbursement in the Medicare home oxygen therapy benefit. The letter explained that further payment reductions this year, coming on top of several recent cuts and an estimated 20 percent reduction that will take effect over the next several months under current law, could jeopardize care for some patients and make benefit reform much more difficult to achieve. (See letter to Senate Budget Committee)
Monday, March 3, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
What’s in a Name?
Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kans.) has lent his name to some of the most important homecare bills in the past few years including the Hatch Conrad Bill (S. 1428) and the Cardiac Pulmonary Rehab Bill (S.329). As a new member of the Senate Finance Committee in the 110th Congress, Roberts has the opportunity to give increased leadership on legislation in health care and Medicare issues.
Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) is also a member of the Senate Finance Committee and has been a champion of homecare. He is committed to working with the industry to come up with a viable solution for payment reform and also signed his name to the HOPP Act. He has tackled the challenge of providing affordable health care by fighting to broaden the Children’s Health Insurance Program and by working to improve health care for older Americans.
Representative Altmire (D-Pa.) serves as Chairman of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee, which recently held a hearing to discuss the impact of competitive bidding on small providers. He has actively participated in homecare discussions during his first term in the United States House of Representatives.
Another important name for the homecare community is Laurence D. Wilson, Director of the Chronic Care Policy Group at the Center for Medicare Management, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Mr. Wilson will be speaking during the competitive bidding forum at this year’s legislative conference.
The Director of the office of Management and Budget, Jim Nussle will be providing his perspective on the outlook for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Each of these “great names” in homecare will be speaking at the AAHomecare 2008 Washington Legislative Conference along with other industry champions and knowledgeable advocates.
For full details and a tentative agenda please visit www.aahomecare.org.
Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) is also a member of the Senate Finance Committee and has been a champion of homecare. He is committed to working with the industry to come up with a viable solution for payment reform and also signed his name to the HOPP Act. He has tackled the challenge of providing affordable health care by fighting to broaden the Children’s Health Insurance Program and by working to improve health care for older Americans.
Representative Altmire (D-Pa.) serves as Chairman of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee, which recently held a hearing to discuss the impact of competitive bidding on small providers. He has actively participated in homecare discussions during his first term in the United States House of Representatives.
Another important name for the homecare community is Laurence D. Wilson, Director of the Chronic Care Policy Group at the Center for Medicare Management, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Mr. Wilson will be speaking during the competitive bidding forum at this year’s legislative conference.
The Director of the office of Management and Budget, Jim Nussle will be providing his perspective on the outlook for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Each of these “great names” in homecare will be speaking at the AAHomecare 2008 Washington Legislative Conference along with other industry champions and knowledgeable advocates.
For full details and a tentative agenda please visit www.aahomecare.org.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Suspend Round One, Cries the Homecare Industry
“As our economy teeters on the brink of a recession and the federal government looks for long term solutions to rapidly increasing health care costs, we believe that this program will only exacerbate these problems and harm Medicare beneficiaries who are prescribed home medical equipment,” said AAHomecare in a letter to Secretary Leavitt on Friday afternoon asking for suspension of round one of the competitive bidding program.
The letter requested CMS suspend implementation until issues raised in a report by Robert Morris University could be examined and analyzed by health care experts and industry experts on the Medicare Program Advisory and Oversight Committee. The new economic study finds that the competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment (DME) being rolled out by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would lead to reduced competition, lower quality of care, and higher costs. This study calls into question the fundamental underpinnings of the program and AAHomecare believes the agency should be required to evaluate the principles and conclusions of this report and again consider whether competitive bidding is in the long-term interests of Medicare, its beneficiaries and taxpayers.
Pennsylvania Association for Medical Suppliers hosted a press conference on Monday at the United Cerebral Palsy of Pittsburgh, and the study has generated significant press coverage in the Pennsylvania media. View the Pittsburgh Post-Gazettes coverage here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08050/858499-28.stm
The letter requested CMS suspend implementation until issues raised in a report by Robert Morris University could be examined and analyzed by health care experts and industry experts on the Medicare Program Advisory and Oversight Committee. The new economic study finds that the competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment (DME) being rolled out by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would lead to reduced competition, lower quality of care, and higher costs. This study calls into question the fundamental underpinnings of the program and AAHomecare believes the agency should be required to evaluate the principles and conclusions of this report and again consider whether competitive bidding is in the long-term interests of Medicare, its beneficiaries and taxpayers.
Pennsylvania Association for Medical Suppliers hosted a press conference on Monday at the United Cerebral Palsy of Pittsburgh, and the study has generated significant press coverage in the Pennsylvania media. View the Pittsburgh Post-Gazettes coverage here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08050/858499-28.stm
Thursday, February 14, 2008
USA Today Analysis Finds Homecare Reduces the Cost of Government Spending on Seniors. Duh!
A front page story in the February 14, 2008 USA Today says government spending for seniors “soared to a record $27,289 per senior in 2007.”
The newspaper’s analysis of government figures drew four key conclusions, and one of them is that long-term care costs per senior have actually declined over the past three years “because of a move away from nursing homes to less-expensive home care.”
Of course, numerous studies have drawn the conclusion that durable medical equipment and other types of homecare equipment and services deliver very cost-effective care and keep seniors out of the emergency rooms, hospitals, and other more expensive settings, which is why HHS Secretary Leavitt has called home-based care “radically” more efficient than institutional care.
Findings of the USA Today analysis include these points:
• Medicare experienced the most explosive growth from 2000 to 2007. The Medicare prescription drug benefit, started in 2006, accounts for about one-fourth of the increase in Medicare, which provides health benefits for people 65 and older.
• Long-term care costs per senior have declined slightly in the last three years because of a move away from nursing homes to less-expensive home care.
• The cost of senior benefits is equal to $10,673 for every non-senior household.
• About 35% of the federal budget is spent on senior benefits, up from 32% in 2004.
See the full story at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-13-seniors_N.htm
The newspaper’s analysis of government figures drew four key conclusions, and one of them is that long-term care costs per senior have actually declined over the past three years “because of a move away from nursing homes to less-expensive home care.”
Of course, numerous studies have drawn the conclusion that durable medical equipment and other types of homecare equipment and services deliver very cost-effective care and keep seniors out of the emergency rooms, hospitals, and other more expensive settings, which is why HHS Secretary Leavitt has called home-based care “radically” more efficient than institutional care.
Findings of the USA Today analysis include these points:
• Medicare experienced the most explosive growth from 2000 to 2007. The Medicare prescription drug benefit, started in 2006, accounts for about one-fourth of the increase in Medicare, which provides health benefits for people 65 and older.
• Long-term care costs per senior have declined slightly in the last three years because of a move away from nursing homes to less-expensive home care.
• The cost of senior benefits is equal to $10,673 for every non-senior household.
• About 35% of the federal budget is spent on senior benefits, up from 32% in 2004.
See the full story at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-13-seniors_N.htm
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Why increase the surety bond by 1000 percent before implementing the original amount?
A law passed in 1997 requires a $50,000 surety bond for DME providers as a deterrent to fraud and abuse. However, the federal government has never actually implemented the surety bond requirement for the DME sector. Next, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed that the amount increase to $65,000.
And now a Senate bill introduced last week would impose a $500,000 surety bond requirement on providers of durable medical equipment (DME) under Medicare. Why increase the surety bond by 1000 percent before the original $50,000 bond has even been implemented?
Insurance experts say a $500,000 surety bond would require that DME providers put up collateral to back the half-million-dollar bond, on top of the $10,000 to $20,000 cost of the bond. A bond of this amount would put thousands of small homecare companies out of business.
These bonds are all being proposed in the name of fighting fraud and abuse, however, it is essential for public and Congress to understand that the Medicare program has failed to effectively exercise its already ample authority to combat fraud and abuse. And while increased civil and criminal penalties may help thwart fraud and abuse in Medicare, most of the people who willingly engage in such activity will not be deterred by higher penalties.
How would a $500,000 bond affect your DME company?
See AAHomecare’s response to this new bill. http://www.aahomecare.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=2
And now a Senate bill introduced last week would impose a $500,000 surety bond requirement on providers of durable medical equipment (DME) under Medicare. Why increase the surety bond by 1000 percent before the original $50,000 bond has even been implemented?
Insurance experts say a $500,000 surety bond would require that DME providers put up collateral to back the half-million-dollar bond, on top of the $10,000 to $20,000 cost of the bond. A bond of this amount would put thousands of small homecare companies out of business.
These bonds are all being proposed in the name of fighting fraud and abuse, however, it is essential for public and Congress to understand that the Medicare program has failed to effectively exercise its already ample authority to combat fraud and abuse. And while increased civil and criminal penalties may help thwart fraud and abuse in Medicare, most of the people who willingly engage in such activity will not be deterred by higher penalties.
How would a $500,000 bond affect your DME company?
See AAHomecare’s response to this new bill. http://www.aahomecare.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=2
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