AAHomecare calls on Price to take action
By HME News Staff
Updated Fri March 24, 2017
WASHINGTON - AAHomecare has outlined several recommendations for fixing the competitive bidding program in a new letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.
Those recommendations are:
• Use market clearing price to determine the single payment amount for any item included in competitive bidding.
• Use historical claims data to determine supplier capacity.
• Increase transparency of the competitive bidding program.
• Reform competitive bidding product categories.
• Apply uniform payment rules for transitioning DMEPOS competitive bidding beneficiaries.
• Remove CMS's authority to move forward with bundled payments for CPAP and standard power wheelchairs.
“HME suppliers, patient groups and leading economists and auction experts have voiced concerns about major structural problems with the bidding program since it first took effect,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO AAHomecare. “With the next round of the bidding program set to consolidate the two rounds into one entity, the time is right for CMS to make these much-needed and common-sense changes.”
AAHomecare recommends CMS go through the formal rulemaking process to instate the proposed reforms.
This week's letter follows a letter in February to Dr. Price requesting a repeal of the full phase-in of the Medicare adjusted fee schedule rates for non-competitive bidding areas that went into effect July 1, 2016.
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