AAHomecare tallies impact of Cures provision

WASHINGTON - The Medicaid programs of 11 states have indicated that they will be changing their fee schedules to match Medicare's, AAHomecare reports.

Twelve states say they will not be changing their fee schedules at this time, and 10 states say they are still analyzing data with AAHomecare and/or CMS.

“It's gratifying to work alongside so many dedicated individuals across the country to encourage state Medicaid officials to take a careful look at their options for complying with the Cures Medicaid provisions,” said Laura Williard, AAHomecare's vice president for payer relations. “The persistence and a team-approach exhibited by these leaders has made all the difference in our successes thus far."

A provision in the Cures Act required CMS to cap its contribution to Medicaid reimbursement for DME at Medicare reimbursement starting Jan. 1, 2018. Industry stakeholders, including AAHomecare and state associations, have been doggedly working to educate state Medicaid programs that they have options other than just adopting Medicare's fee schedules.

The states that will be changing their fee schedules: Vermont, Montana, Washington, Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, North Dakota, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Alabama

The states that won't be changing their fee schedules: Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Indiana.

The states that are still analyzing data: New Hampshire, Illinois, New York, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Nebraska and South Dakota.

AAH and state associations are working with Iowa, Kentucky, Connecticut and Alabama to convince them to reverse their decisions to adopt Medicare's fee schedules, or to limit their reductions in reimbursement using HCPCS-based utilization.