Tag: H.R. 284
Binding bids language heads to president's desk
April 15, 2015HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The Senate on Tuesday passed a “doc fix” bill that contains binding bids language.
The House of Representatives passed a similar bill just before the Easter recess.
President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law, according to news reports.
The bill, which the Senate passed 92-8, staves off a 21.2% cut in payments to physicians.
The binding bids language in the bill has its roots in H.R. 284, which the House passed on March 16.
In addition to binding...
Bid fight moves to Senate
March 20, 2015Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - No sooner had the House of Representatives passed a bill that would reform the competitive bidding program, than things started moving in the Senate.The House on March 16 voted unanimously to pass H.R. 284, which would require binding bids and proof of licensure.“The Senate has been watching this,” said Jay Witter, senior vice president of public policy for AAHomecare. “As soon as the bill passed, I was getting emails.”H.R. 284, which was introduced Jan. 12, was...
Bidding bill clears another huge hurdle
March 16, 2015HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday sided with the HME industry and passed a bill that would reform the competitive bidding program.After 40 minutes of debate, representatives voted to pass H.R. 284, which would require, among other things, binding bids and proof of licensure.The House Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 26 marked up and unanimously voted to pass H.R. 284.Then the Congressional Budget Office on March 12 released a statement saying it believes, if passed, H.R. 284...
Score! CBO estimates bill would increase revenue
March 13, 2015HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The industry's binding bids legislation got another boost yesterday when the Congressional Budget Office said that passing it could increase revenues.
In a statement, the CBO estimated that H.R. 284 would increase revenues by about $1 million.
The CBO stated:
CBO expects that implementing the legislation would not have a significant effect on the prices that CMS establishes for DME items, but that it would result in the forfeiture of a small number of surety bonds. CBO estimates...
House fast tracks bid bill
February 27, 2015Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - Industry stakeholders last week hailed a favorable vote that pushed legislation to reform the competitive bidding program a step closer to passage.“There's finally been recognition by key lawmakers that there's a problem that needs to be fixed,” said Tom Ryan, president and CEO of AAHomecare.The House Ways and Means Committee marked up H.R. 284, along with a handful of other non-controversial, bipartisan healthcare bills (see related story), on Feb. 26. The committee unanimously...
Bid bills need to move fast
January 16, 2015Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - With the bid window for the Round 2 re-compete of competitive bidding set to open this week, industry stakeholders are eyeing their options to fast track a pair of bills to reform the bidding program.“We want to get this legislation passed quickly,” said Jay Witter, senior vice president of public policy at AAHomecare. “We are hopeful we can get on the suspension calendar.”Both bills, introduced Jan. 12, would require providers to obtain bid bonds and provide...