AAH to Congress: It’s ‘rough’ out there

WASHINGTON – AAHomecare had several meetings lined up with lawmakers on Capitol Hill the week of May 9 as it worked to grow support for reimbursement relief. 

“We’re primarily working the House side on H.R. 6641 and the committees of jurisdiction – Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO. “Unfortunately, it’s all Republicans, because they are the only ones doing face-to-face meetings.” 

Introduced Feb. 8 by Reps. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Paul Tonko, D, N.Y., the bill would implement a blended rate based 90% on bid pricing and 10% on the 2015 fee schedule, representing about a 10% to 15% increase. The number of sponsors currently stands at 15. 

With a full 2% Medicare sequester cut also slated to take effect July 1 – after broad efforts by a coalition of health care groups to extend a moratorium on the cuts until the end of the public health emergency failed to gain traction – it’s important to be persistent in telling the industry’s story of decreased reimbursement yet increased costs, say stakeholders. 

“We need to continue to build pressure on members and talk about how rough it is out there,” said Jay Witter, vice president of government relations for AAHomecare. 

AAHomecare also continues work in the Senate to extend a 75/25 blended reimbursement rate for non-bid, non-rural areas that’s in place through the PHE as part of the CARES Act. In April, the Department of Health and Human Services extended the PHE until July 16, 2022. 

“Our intel tells us the PHE is likely to go to end of the year, maybe even into the first quarter of 2023,” said Ryan. “It changes all the time.”