Tag: Senate
Senate honors United Spinal
July 20, 2021HME News Staff
KEW GARDENS, N.Y. – The U.S. Senate has formally recognized the United Spinal Association on its 75th anniversary by passing a resolution, S. Res. 278, highlighting key moments in the organization’s history. One such moment: In 1948, United Spinal members advocated for and helped pass the first accessible housing bill in the United States, which helped to build homes for paralyzed veterans. “The resolution formally honors United Spinal’s continued role in supporting and advocating...
Senate refreshes PPP
April 22, 2020HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill earmarking $310 billion to replenish the depleted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
“This is great news for DMEPOS suppliers, as it means additional funding availabilities,” said VGM in a bulletin. “We've heard from many (suppliers) that have not received PPP funding from (their) bank.”
The bill, which will deliver a total of $484 billion in funding for small businesses and hospitals, and expanded COVID-19...
Senate Finance leaders urge delay of bid pricing
April 20, 2016HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Senate Finance Committee leaders have asked CMS to delay applying the next round of Medicare reimbursement cuts in rural areas.
In an April 18 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., express their concerns that six months isn't long enough to detect and correct problems with the rollout of competitive bidding to non-bid areas.
“It is unlikely that CMS will be able...
Stakeholders line up for July 1 fight
February 19, 2016Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON - Industry stakeholders and their champions in Congress are mapping out a strategy to stave off a second round of reimbursement cuts scheduled for July 1 in non-bid areas.
Members of the Senate Finance Committee are in the process of drafting a letter to CMS, asking the agency to use its regulatory authority to delay the second round of cuts, says Tom Ryan, president and CEO of AAHomecare.
“Six months is not long enough to determine the impact of the first cuts on access,”...
Bid program: Senate letter creates opportunity
May 16, 2014Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - Thirty-one senators, as of press time on Friday, had signed a letter to CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner asking her not to expand the competitive bidding program until the Office of Inspector General completes an investigation of Round 2.
“We are seeing results,” said Jay Witter, vice president of government affairs for AAHomecare.
CMS in February published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comments on developing a methodology to apply bid rates to...
More lawmakers hold briefings on bid program
June 13, 2013HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Members of two House committees—Energy and Commerce; and Ways and Means—will meet today at 4 p.m. with representatives from CMS to discuss the competitive bidding program, according to a bulletin from the VGM Group. Members of the Senate met with representatives June 11 to discuss the program.
McCaskill: Bid program helps regulate system
May 24, 2013Leif Kothe
WASHINGTON - Of the two providers that were subpoenaed to testify at a second congressional hearing on HME business practices on May 22, one invoked the Fifth Amendment and the other said he “wants to play by the rules.”
Jon Letko, president of Milford, N.J.-based U.S. Healthcare Supply, invoked the Fifth Amendment before the Senate Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight, leaving Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., visibly surprised.
“We are hopeful that, at some point...
New MPP bill starts strong
April 26, 2013Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - The HME industry needs to hit the ground running now that a new bill to replace competitive bidding with a market-pricing program (MPP) has been dropped, say stakeholders.
“This is not the beginning of the battle, this is the meat of the battle,” said Joel Marx, AAHomecare chairman. “There is no turning back.”
Right out of the gate, H.R. 1717, the “Medicare DMEPOS Market Pricing Program Act of 2013,” had 25 co-sponsors. Reps. Tom Price,...
No more carte blanche for auditors?
November 21, 2012Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - If the amount of feedback that the Senate Finance Committee has received on how to improve the audit process is any consideration, expect it to push for big changes.
"We received almost 2,000 pages of recommendations in response to our solicitation, so it is taking a while to get through them," said Julia Lawless, a spokeswoman for the committee. "We hope to issue a high level summary before the end of the year."
[See also: Former CMS official: The audit process...
Hearing scheduled to examine PMD waste and fraud
September 14, 2012HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - A Senate Aging Committee hearing next week will focus on new Medicare prior authorization requirements for power mobility devices (PMDs). The hearing, scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 19, at 2 p.m., will review a three-year CMS demonstration project requiring prior authorizations for PMDs in seven states. The states under the microscope—California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Florida and Texas—are where government officials believe PMD fraud is most prevalent....