Legislative


Gillispie Receives Top HME Advocacy Honor

Named earlier in September, Best Home Medical’s Regina Gillespie is honored with the Van Miller Homecare Champion Award at this week’s Medtrade conference and expo.

ESRD/Competitive Bidding Rule Could Hit Mid November

Medtrade Washington Update: Rule currently at OMB; AAHomecare’s Ryan says bidding gap opens window of opportunity to drive more bid reforms.

VGM Names Blackburn 2018 HME Woman of the Year Award

Georgie Blackburn of BLACKBURN’s becomes the third winner of VGM’s annual award recognizing women in the industry for their leadership and advocacy.

Congressional Sign-on Letters Attract Solid Support

The tally of lawmakers calling for broader bid reforms includes 138 Representatives and 32 Senators.

Breast Cancer Equity Bill Introduced in House

A new bill would require Medicare to fund custom breast protheses, and a public awareness campaign is driving support for the nascent legislation.

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Business Solutions

A Look Ahead For HME

Each October we ask the members of HMEB’s editorial advisory board to share their insights into the trends, obstacles, challenges and opportunities that providers will likely encounter over the next several months. This year, the board members are pointing to several developments that providers might not have on their radars.

Senate Sign-on Letter Launched; House Letter Deadline Extended

House letter up to more than 75 signers, with the deadline extended to Oct. 5; Senate letter calls for more relief for rural and non-bid providers.

VGM Announces Finalists for the 2018 Woman of the Year

Four women named as key eaders in the HME community; the winner will be announced at Medtrade in Atlanta.

Industry Pushes Lawmakers to Back Congressional Letter

Providers have until end of day Friday to get members of the House to sign letter calling for CMS to add more reforms to its proposed rule.

Download: Whitepaper Examines Sole Source Contracts

AAHomecare whitepaper assesses the impact of Medicaid MCO plans and other payers’ use of sole source contracts.



House Sign-on Letter Asks for More Relief in CMS’s Proposed Rule

Providers called on to lobby lawmakers to sign a letter asking CMS to expand relief for HME providers in its proposed ESRD/DMEPOS rule.

AAHomecare Honors Regina Gillespie as 2018 Homecare Champion

President and owner of Best Home Medical recognized for her efforts representing industry on Capitol Hill.

Essentially Women Launches Make Me Whole Again Campaign

The public awareness campaign pushes Medicare to fund custom breast prostheses as Essentially Women and VGM Government Relations work to develop legislation requiring Medicare to do so.

NCART Urges CRT Stakeholders to Share Data with Lawmakers

Data showing a drop off in the provisioning of accessories for manual CRT chairs could boost Congressional support for H.R. 3730 and S. 486.

Providers Urged to Submit Public Comments on ESRD Rule

As Sept. 10 deadline looms, HME associations, advocates remind providers that CMS’s proposed rule offers concrete opportunity to achieve wins for the industry.

Editor's Note

ESRD Rule: It's a Start

The proposed rule includes a lot of positives, but experts have pointed out some notable issues.

Observation Deck

Going the Distance Against Bidding

GAO: Non-Bid Areas Didn’t See Patient Access Problems in 2016

GAO conflicts with various studies, including those involving case managers and discharge planners, as well as CMS’s recently proposed rulemaking.

AAHomecare, VGM Help Providers with ESRD Comments

Groups give providers information, templates and filing guidelines so that they make the Sept. 10 filing deadline for public comments on CMS's proposed rule.

87% of Providers Have Cut Provisioning Manual CRT Accessories

New report: the application of bid-derived reimbursement cuts to accessories has reduced providers’ ability to offer those items.

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