Ready for the Challenge

The home care industry is facing many challenges in 2004 due to enactment of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA). The American Association for Homecare is well prepared. We have developed an action plan to ensure that policy-makers hear our message to preserve access to high-quality home care equipment and services. And we are putting our strategy in place, a multi-pronged approach that entails concerted efforts on Capitol Hill, in the administration and federal agencies, at the state level and in the public arena.

Relationship Building

Since passage of the new law, Capitol Hill and the administration have been in an “Okay, how do we move forward now?” mode. There have been lots of personnel changes in Washington, as is always the custom after a monumental legislative effort.

AAHomecare has used much of the time since the law passed to fortify relationships at the congressional, federal and state levels, and with industry stakeholders and consumer groups. Many of our members, too, have used the time to initiate or re-establish important, constituent-based ties to their members of Congress. The best time for such relationship-building is in the waning days of one session and into the next, when decision-making is not at its crucial, frantic pace.

Now Congress is back, a new administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has been nominated and AAHomecare is moving ahead aggresively to address a number of priorities that are equally important to our membership.

A Long List of Issues

This year, we will focus our attention on the Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) reductions, which will become effective in 2005. We want to stress with the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services our concerns about reduced access for patients. We also want to help them understand the significant differences between the private-pay FEHBP populations and the Medicare-eligible populations. In doing so, we hope to convince them of pursuing a “limited implementation” policy until a better assessment can be made on the impact on beneficiary access.

AAHomecare has begun meetings with the Office of Inspector General to discuss the Work Plan, which includes a study that will compare Medicare reimbursement with reimbursement under FEHBP. This study is of critical importance to HME suppliers who provide oxygen and other DMEPOS items to Medicare beneficiaries.