WASHINGTON, DC – As part of its continuing collaboration with CMS, AAHomecare staff met with CMS officials on June 4 to review in detail the comments submitted in response to the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for the expansion of the Medicare bidding program. AAHomecare, along with a wide array of clinicians, advocates for Medicare patients, as well as HME, manufacturers, and trade groups, submitted comments in response to the ANPRM in March.
AAHomecare CEO Tom Ryan (pictured), Jay Witter, senior vice president of Public Policy, and Kim Brummett, vice president of Regulatory Affairs, were on hand to advocate for the industry’s positions on bidding expansion. AAHomecare presented an analysis of all comments submitted to CMS. The analysis clearly showed that more than 90% of submissions were opposed to potential bundling of DME as indicated in the ANPRM. The overwhelming opinion was that the program was too new to tout as a success, much less implement CB pricing more broadly.
“The ANPRM comments, coming from a variety of individuals and organizations, offer further evidence that the CMS bidding program endangers patients and needlessly puts providers out of business,” said Ryan. “CMS and Congress should be focused on fixing these problems so that senior citizens and others living with disabilities—some of the most vulnerable people in our society—receive adequate goods and services. We need to stop the rush to expand, and make the current program work properly.”
AAHomecare to Meet CMS Again this Week
WASHINGTON, DC – On June 17th and 18th, AAHomecare’s Regulatory Council will meet in Baltimore. On the agenda will be audits, face-to-face issues, and the competitive bidding advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, among other issues. Dr. Michael Handrigan and Latesha Walker from CMS will also be in attendance at the meeting.