Page 8 - HME Business, January 2018

News / Trends / Analysis
Push to Pick Up HR 4229 Co-Sponsors Intensifies
Industry scrambles to garner more co-sponsors for the Protecting HOME Access Act in between Thanksgiving and Holiday recesses.
At press time, HME providers and industry advocates were pushing to the very last minute to recruit Representatives to sign on as H.R. 4229 co-sponsors before they left for recess on Dec. 14. The lawmakers having just returned from their Thanksgiving break, the industry had a narrow window of opportunity.
“With that tight timetable and a wealth of other pressing business on Capitol Hill, it’s critical that the HME community make a concerted effort in the coming week to ask your legislators to sign on to H.R. 4229,” read a statement from the American Association for Homecare calling for providers
to join the effort. “If you have not yet contacted your legislators, please contact their of ce in the coming week to ask that they co-sponsor H.R. 4229, the Protecting Home Oxygen and Medical Equipment Access Act.”
At press time the bill had signatures from 90
lawmakers. Providers can see if their Representative is a co-sponsor by visiting bit.ly/2hBxh4c.
The effort to continue collecting co-sponsors will continue when lawmakers return from their holiday recess on Jan. 3.
“Direct contact with your legislators or their staff truly make a difference in raising awareness and getting more co-sponsors on board,” a statement on the push from the American Association for Homecaare read.
Full text of the legislative language is available as a PDF at bit.ly/2gZ5rOD and the bill can be monitored on the Library of Congress site at bit. ly/2znFN0j.
Providers can obtain issue briefs on rural reimbursement relief at bit.ly/2AbhAsh and the O2 “double dip” cuts at bit.ly/2z9rdtI. If they need additional help contacting their lawmakers, such as contact information for Representatives’
healthcare legislative assistants, they can reach AAHomecare’s Gordon Barnes at gordonb@ aahomecare.org. n
payments for speci c HCPCS codes which include K and E codes and some A codes.
AAHomecare also reported that CMS would send a letter to State Medicaid Directors that provides additional guidance, and hosted a State Operational and Technical Assistance call on Dec. 7, in which the association participated.
“State Medicaid programs do not have to set their rates at a Medicare allowable,” a statement from AAHomcare read. “States will continue
to have the exibility to set their own rates to ensure access to care. However, given the fact that the Federal match is being reduced to re ect Medicare rates, we expect many states will feel compelled to lower fee schedules accord- ingly. AAHomecare will provide support to state/ regional association leaders and other stake- holders in advocating for sustainable Medicaid reimbursement rates under these new program requirements.
The association encouraged providers seeking more information to read an issue summary on the CURES Medicaid requirements available at bit. ly/2zTSHos, or contact Laura Williard, vice president of payer relations, at LauraW@aahomecare.org for more information. n
CMS Revs Up CURES- Mandated Medicaid Revisions
CMS will send letters to state Medicaid Directors, host a special call, and is creating reporting structure to ensure compliance.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is beginning the process of implementing Medicaid-related provisions that were part of the CURES Act, which was passed in December 2016.
The CURES Act included provisions to give relief to providers and patients affected by the national expansion of competitive bidding to non-bid areas. However, one aspect of the CURES Act was an acceleration of the plan to limit the Federal matching on Medicaid reimbursement rates for HME to the Medicare fee-for-service payment rates, including for items impacted by competitive bidding-derived rates. Rather than apply those rates in January 2019, the application would be
ramped up by one year to Jan. 1, 2018.
The American Association for Homecare has
been meeting with CMS during 2017, and has worked with state Medicaid programs, state asso- ciations, stakeholder groups, and legal counsel during the year to ensure that the Medicaid programs understand their rights in managing their program and their responsibilities to ensure access to care under these new requirements.
At the most recent meeting, AAHomecare reported it received additional information related to a notice from CMS in the Federal Register (bit.ly/2zTAtTY) that says Medicaid agen- cies will need to show they are complying with this regulation by annually reporting their claim
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Introduced by Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), H.R. 4229 (bit.ly/2znFN0j) provides relief for providers suffering from the expansion of competitive bidding to rural and non-bid areas, as well as address the so-called “oxygen double dip.”