—Via AAHomecare WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 5, 2017)—On Tuesday afternoon, AAHomecare president Tom Ryan, Jay Witter, AAHomecare senior vice president of public affairs, Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations with Invacare, and Thomas Barker, an attorney recently engaged by the Association, met with CMS Administrator Seema Verma and Deputy Administrator Demetrios Kouzoukas, as well as several other HHS and CMS staffers. Principal topics of discussion included structural fixes for the next round of competitive bidding as well as the need for additional reimbursement relief for providers serving rural areas.
Administrator Verma demonstrated impressive familiarity with HME industry concerns about the bidding program, and others in attendance were well-acquainted with the proposals in letters regarding the bidding program AAHomecare recently sent to HHS Secretary Price, which provided a good baseline for the discussions.
AAHomecare was also afforded the opportunity to discuss our support for a longer-term fix on the CRT accessory reimbursement and for addressing the “double dip” stationary O2 cuts; staffers in attendance asked us to follow up with additional information on those issues.
We believe both the tone and substance of the discussion in this meeting shows that the new leadership at HHS and CMS understand industry concerns with the bidding program. In particular, we’re encouraged by Administrator Verma and her colleagues expressing their interest in working with us to come up with solutions on these issues that will allow us to continue to meet the needs of the millions of individuals who depend on home medical equipment and related services.
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