Posted by: Rob Brant
on Dec 23, 2009
Dear Members,
As we approach the end of the year, we at AMEPA have been reflecting upon the past year, all we have accomplished and all we still need to do. This has been an exciting year for us. We testified to a Congressional Subcommittee through our President Robert Brant, we hosted a successful statewide conference, we have been to Washington 5 times to advocate for legislation to repeal competitive bidding, we helped create and manage two state associations FAHCS and TAHCS, and working with them and all of our members we were able to initiate the bill HR 3790. We are pleased to report that through our efforts and those of AAHomecare, VGM and other state and national organizations there are officially 118 co-sponsors and several others who have committed to sign during the current recess.
Posted by: Rob Brant
on Dec 21, 2009
Saturday afternoon, December 19th, 3:00 P.M.
I just finished double checking all of the Form B subsections: Revenue from Product Category, Top HCPCS Codes, Expansion Plan, Bid Sheet, Manufacturer Model Numbers and Summary Page. All that remained was to certify the bid.
Posted by: Sean Schwighammer
on Dec 17, 2009
Round One rebidders have sent a number of questions, trying to understand how capacity and weights impact the DMEPOS bidding program. Reviewing what happened in the original Round One bid, it is clear that some providers placed uneducated "blind bids" that unnecessarily affected items that should not have been lowered.
For example: The 2008 bid program payment amounts for the oxygen contents codes, dropped nearly $17 (From $77 to $60) in many of the CBAs. It made little sense that those items would drop $17, since the bids were placed in the summer of 2007 and those items first became effective 15 months later, in January 2009.
Posted by: Sean Schwighammer
on Dec 11, 2009
Over 4,000 business were removed from Medicare in Round One areas
Earlier this week, the Government Accountability Office released a study on the variety of problems with Round One DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program (CBP). The program ran for two weeks, but was stopped by Congress on July 15, 2008 because of concerns about unqualified bid winners and patient access issues.
For the first time details which Medicare refused to confirm have been made public. Medicare has also acknowledged problems that industry associations have been warning legislators about including: unlicensed bid winners, inexperienced bid winners and a reduction in the majority of existing providers in each of the Competitive Bidding Areas (CBAs). Ironically, the report was released as companies in nine metropolitan areas are preparing to re-bid, under an almost identical set of rules in the first round of the program. Once the program is re-implemented, only bid winners can provide the majority of Durable Medical Equipment items for those local Medicare beneficiaries.
Posted by: Rob Brant
on Dec 09, 2009
Damaging GAO report released as HR-3790 hits 101 co-sponsors
One thing I have learned in the last 2 years about U.S. Government reports is that legislative aids use them to make decisions and they base their decision on the "Page One" summaries. Just two weeks ago I received the following email from a congressional aid in one of the Round One areas.
"The congressman asked that I contact the Congressional Research Service regarding the Competitive Bidding Program. Can you take a look at this and tell me why they are wrong. I need to know because if they are saying it saves money and does not disrupt service then it is hard to sign onto a bill scrapping it."
Posted by: Sean Schwighammer
on Dec 09, 2009
Senate version of Healthcare reform has new twists
Last night the Senate announced an agreement with liberal and moderate Democrats that would allow them to gain the necessary votes to pass a Senate Health Care Bill. To the surprise of many, this includes a change to Medicare eligibility. Instead of moving the age of eligibility from 65 years old to 67 of 69 years (to save money), the agreement includes a move to lower the age of eligibility for Medicare benefits to 55 years old. This is a major expansion of Medicare's rolls.
