Tag: Accredited Medical Equip Prov of America (AMEPA)
Industry gathers 'ammunition'
April 12, 2013Liz Beaulieu, Editor
BALTIMORE - Industry stakeholders believe CMS may have shot itself in the other foot when it released the names of the 799 suppliers who won 13,126 contracts as part of Round 2 of competitive bidding.
“There are glaring problems with this list,” said Wayne Stanfield, president and CEO of NAIMES. “CMS has failed on every level: They have selected unqualified companies; they have given hundreds of contracts to suppliers that have no ability to fulfill them. It goes on and...
Industry opens up multiple fronts against bid program
March 22, 2013Leif Kothe
WASHINGTON - With a new bill for the market-pricing program (MPP) expected to drop soon, industry stakeholders are mulling another legislative tactic in the fight against competitive bidding: a delay in the implementation of Round 2.
Congress has mandated CMS to implement Round 2 in 2013—but not necessarily on July 1. Stakeholders are working with members of Congress to create legislation that would delay the program's start date until the end of the year.
“We're using this...
In brief: Petition re-launches, Rotech wins contract
March 15, 2013HME News Staff
CUMMING, Ga. - The Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America (AMEPA) is re-launching an online petition to replace competitive bidding with the market-pricing program (MPP), according to Rob Brant, CEO. The White House petition, which will be activated March 18, will be live for 30 days, expiring April 18. The petition needs 100,000 signatures to gain a response from the president. To help direct people to the petition, AMEPA has developed an easy-to-remember web site, www.savepatientaccess.com....
New sense of urgency for MPP
January 4, 2013Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON - With no time to lick their wounds, industry stakeholders are now targeting a must-pass bill to address a series of spending cuts as a potential vehicle for their market-pricing program (MPP).
The “fiscal cliff” deal, which did not include language to replace competitive bidding with MPP, delays $130 billion in automatic spending cuts until March 1. That gives stakeholders a small window to resurrect the program.
“We have another bite of the apple, but we need...
AMEPA announces winners of Outstanding Advocate Award
December 28, 2012HME News Staff
MIAMI - Jerry and Amanda Hall of Hall-Moore Medical Supply in Jacksonville, Fla., are the recipients of the 2012 Robert Arado Outstanding Advocate Award, according to an AMEPA newsletter. The award is given to the provider who “has truly made a difference for the survival of the HME industry through personal commitment,” the newsletter said. While the Halls' business was not directly affected by Round 1 of competitive bidding, they traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with Florida...
AMEPA launches patient advocacy line
December 12, 2012HME News Staff
MIAMI - AMEPA has launched a patient advocacy line to help facilitate patients, caregivers, and providers calling their representatives and asking them to co-sponsor the market-pricing program (MPP), according to a bulletin from the group. Providers who register on the website will be sent a PDF flyer for distribution that explains the problems with the current competitive bidding program, the improvements outlined in H.R. 6490, and a toll free number to call their representative in Congress. When...
Nobel Prize winner, MPP supporter gives lecture
December 7, 2012HME News Staff
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - An economics professor at Harvard University who co-signed a letter in support of a bill to establish a market-pricing program (MPP) will deliver his Nobel Prize lecture Dec. 8, according to an AMEPA newsletter. Alvin Roth is one of five Noble Prize winners in economics who co-signed the letter to President Obama, urging him to replace competitive bidding with MPP. Peter Cramton, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, believes Roth's award is a positive step...
CMS to providers: Is your bid bona fide?
November 30, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON - It appears CMS still has a ways to go before releasing the single payment amounts for Round 2 of competitive bidding.The agency on Nov. 29 sent certain providers who submitted bids an email alerting them to expect an “urgent notification” that requires their “immediate attention and action,” but it wasn't a contract offer.“They are bona fide letters,” said Chris Rice, CEO of Diamond Respiratory Care in Riverside, Calif., who received a letter.The letters...
Industry pounds pavement on MPP
November 16, 2012Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - It was back to work on Capitol Hill the week of Nov. 12 and HME industry stakeholders wasted no time pushing to replace competitive bidding with a market-pricing program (MPP).A team from the Florida Association of Home Care Services and AMEPA called on 21 congressional offices Nov. 13 and 14."We got a number of verbal commitments," said Rob Brant, AMEPA CEO. "There were a few that said they hadn't heard of any problems with the program or said they haven't heard any complaints from...
Digging our graves?
May 12, 2009Mike Moran
When we received a press release announcing that a handful of independent HME providers had formed a new group to get their specific interests heard on Capitol Hill, I wondered how our readers would repond. It seems representation abounds for the industry these days, whether it's AAHomecare, NAIMES, AMEPA, The VGM Group or The MED Group. Now add the Committee to Save Independent HME Suppliers (CSI: HME) to that list. One reader e-mailed me this morning, saying: "I think this is one of the most...