Jefferson City, Mo.
The Missouri Senate has approved a bill that eliminates the state Medicaid requirement to fund most adult DME. According to reports, the legislation could eliminate more than 100,000 from the state's Medicaid program.
While the bill “does not mean the state will not pay for DME,” explained Brady Vestal, director of home medical equipment at Citizen Memorial Health Care in Bolivar, Mo., it does mean “DME providers are going to be left to the whim of the [state] House Appropriations Committee for funding from year to year.” Vestal, who also serves as state chairman for the Midwest Association of Medical Equipment Services (MAMES), added that for now, providers will focus lobbying efforts on the state House, which controls Missouri's purse strings.
