WASHINGTON--In response to CMS' one-week extension of its first-round bid deadlines, AAHomecare announced late Friday that it has joined several other stakeholder groups to go after support in Congress for a longer delay in the implementation of national competitive bidding.

While the "announced delay for competitive bidding is welcome," the association said, serious concerns about the program roll-out mean a broader delay is in order.

The association said it has teamed up with several other groups in Washington to gain congressional support through House and Senate "sign-on letters" asking for a delay in the implementation of competitive bidding and an extension in the online bidding window until a number of questions can be answered by CMS. (See "First-Round Bidders Get One-Week Reprieve" in this issue.)

The other groups include the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the Health Industry Distributors Association and the National Association for Support of Long Term Care. The associations are also asking patient groups to alert congressional leaders about their concerns with the implementation and impact of competitive bidding.

AAHomecare said the House letter is being spearheaded by Reps. Tom Allen, D-Maine, and Sam Johnson, R-Texas. Sponsors of the Senate letter are Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan.

The association is urging HME stakeholders to contact their legislators to sign on to the letters by July 10.

For more information, contact AAHomecare's Walt Gorski, waltg@aahomecare.org, or Stacey Harms, staceyh@aahomecare.org.