AAHomecare

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 10, 2022)—Legislation to apply 90/10 blended Medicare reimbursement rate for home medical equipment (HME) in former competitive bidding areas (CBA) has been formally introduced in the United States House of Representatives. The DMEPOS Relief Act of 2022 (HR 6641) would boost rates for items in the 13 product categories whose bid results were not implemented in Round 2021. These increased rates would apply from Jan. 1, 2022 through Dec. 31, 2023.  

ARLINGTON, Va. (January 11, 2022)—Durable medical equipment (DME) e-prescribe company, Parachute Health, has reaffirmed its commitment to the provider community as AAHomecare’s newest Diamond-level corporate partner.

WASHINGTON D.C. (January 5, 2022)—Stakeholders representing health care providers and end users with medical needs developed a white paper to educate payers and state Medicaid programs on the types of intermittent catheter products and services needed to successfully manage an individual’s urinary retention needs in a home-based setting to improve patient experience, health outcomes and reduce overall cost. 
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 21, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has just released a long-awaited durable medical equipment (DME) rule that includes significant provisions impacting Medicare reimbursement for DME products and services.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 7, 2021)—Tomorrow Health is investing in stronger home medical equipment (HME) advocacy efforts by becoming an American Association for Homecare’s (AAHomecare) Diamond corporate partner, to the benefit of the homecare community and the millions of patients it serves.
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 1, 2021)—The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) and The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) are releasing an Oxygen Toolkit supporting individuals who require supplemental oxygen and clinicians who prescribe supplemental oxygen to their patients.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 17, 2021)—Eleven leading companies have signaled their commitment to supporting advocacy efforts that benefit the entire home medical equipment community as members of the American Association for Homecare’s (AAHomecare) new Diamond corporate partner class. They are:

WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 3, 2021)—The American Association of Homecare (AAHomecare) has added two highly experienced home medical equipment (HME) leaders to its board of directors with this week’s appointment of Matt Mellott and Tom Pontzius to fill a pair of vacant slots.
 

JACKSON, Miss. (October 28, 2021)—Mississippi home medical equipment (HME) stakeholders secured a significant measure of relief when the state’s legislature eliminated a long-standing 5% reduction in Medicaid rates for HME, effective July 1, 2021.

MOBILE, Ala. (October 19, 2021)—Supreme Medical Fulfillment has joined the American Associatoin for Homecare (AAHomecare)—the national association dedicated to advancing the home medical equipment (HME) community. 

ATLANTA (October 14, 2021)—The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) is proud to announce the 2021 Van Miller Homecare Champion award, recognizing outstanding home medical equipment (HME) service, will be presented to Steve Ackerman, president and CEO of Spectrum Medical in Silver Spring, Maryland.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 7, 2021)—The American Assocation for Homecare (AAHomecare) shared that it had received confirmation from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the agency that manages the Provider Relief Fund (PRF), that durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers are eligible for General Distribution Phase 3 and Phase 4 funding. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 1, 2021)—The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made $25.5 billion in funds available starting Sept. 29th. HHS is now accepting applications for General Distribution Phase 4 and American Rescue Plan (ARP) Rural payments. HHS is also accepting requests for reconsideration of Phase 3 payment calculations.

A new venture from leaders in the durable medical equipment (DME) industry is looking to increase the use of e-prescribe across the DME space. The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare), VGM & Associates, Ltd., AdaptHealth, LLC., Apria Healthcare Group LLC, Lincare Inc. and Rotech Healthcare Inc., have joined to form an independent e-prescribe company DMEscripts. 

RALEIGH, N.C. (September 16, 2021)—North Carolina Medicaid has agreed to extend the 5% Medicaid rate increase granted to help home medical equipment (HME) suppliers respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) for an additional two months. The agency had discussed ending the increase for HME on Sept. 30, 2021; it will now remain in place through Nov. 30, 2021.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 8, 2021)—Leaders of the durable medical equipment (DME) industry announced the formation of DMEscripts LLC, an independent e-prescribe company dedicated to improving the patient, prescriber and provider experience by eliminating inefficiencies and reducing paperwork.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 26, 2021)—On August 25, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) distributed an alert on Philips respiratory products under recall. In their notice, CMS tells patients with recalled devices:

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 19, 2021)—Stakeholders representing health care providers and end users with medical needs developed a white paper to educate payers and state Medicaid programs on the types of products and services needed to successfully manage an individual’s bowel and bladder needs in a home-based setting to achieve the Triple Aim of improving patient experience and health outcomes while reducing overall cost. 
 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 6, 2021)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule on July 30, 2021, permanently exempted manual complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchair accessories from pricing based on competitive bidding results for standard wheelchair accessories.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 6, 2021)—AAHomecare has retained The Nickles Group (TNG), a well-established D.C. lobbying firm, to bolster the association’s capability to engage Capitol Hill and federal agencies overseeing health care policy.