State news: Oklahoma, North Carolina
By Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
Updated Thu February 7, 2019
Fifteen members of the Oklahoma Medical Equipment Providers Association (OMEPA), other providers from the state and VGM's Jay Kopriva joined forces at the state capitol in Oklahoma City on Feb. 5 to educate and gather support from their state representatives for H.B. 1407, a bill that would exempt HME from sales tax. Currently, Oklahoma is one of only a few states that charges sales tax on HME and supplies. “We received overwhelming support for the bill,” Kopriva said in a VGM bulletin. “OMEPA welcomes any member to join them in this continued effort for DME sales tax exemption. VGM is proud to be a part of OMEPA's efforts”…North Carolina has selected Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs) to manage its Medicaid program, AAHomecare reports. They are AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina, BlueCross and BlueShield of North Carolina, United Healthcare of North Carolina, WellCare of North Carolina and Carolina Complete Health (a partnership between the North Carolina Medical Society and Centene). Their contracts will go into effect in two regional phases in November 2019 and February 2020. “We have been in regular contact with N.C. Medicaid to discuss HME industry concerns related to the increasing number of states turning to MCOs to administer Medicaid benefits nationwide,” said Laura Williard, AAHomecare vice president of payer relations. “I believe we've made a strong impression about the need for strong oversight of these MCO-led programs.”
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