Tag: MPP

ATLANTA - A bill that would soften the blow of the national expansion of competitive bidding is coming, AAHomecare officials told Medtrade attendees last week.Stakeholders already have Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., committed to introduce the bill, but recently they were able to sign on Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., as a lead co-sponsor, making the effort bi-partisan; and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., as the lead on a companion bill.“You want to see the bill already,” said Tom Ryan, president and...

WASHINGTON - Provider Robert Steedley will take the mic at a hearing this week to discuss how the market pricing program is a better alternative to the current bidding system.“We want to continue to discuss with Congress repairing what we consider to be a flawed program,” said Steedley, who will be speaking as AAHomecare's chairman of the Board of Directors. Steedley is also president of Barnes Healthcare Services in Valdosta, Ga. “I'll focus on some of the more problematic areas,...

WASHINGTON - In an April 30 proposed rule that sets hospital and long-term care inpatient payment rates and rules for 2015, CMS acknowledged it plans to implement ICD-10 on Oct. 1, 2015. Congress forced the agency's hand when both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed “doc fix” bills that included a one-year delay in the transition to the new coding system. CMS “expects to release an interim final rule in the near future that will include a new compliance date that...

WASHINGTON - It's still early, but industry stakeholders are already hearing reports of licensure issues in the Round 1 re-compete.This time, however, it's licensed providers that say their bids were rejected because, according to the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC), they were not properly licensed.“We've just begun licensure analysis, but CMS seems to be making the same kind of mistakes,” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations for Invacare....

WASHINGTON - All eyes in Washington, D.C., last week may have been on the Affordable Care Act and the website that couldn't, but that didn't stop stakeholders from meeting with legislative staffers to get a sense of what the industry might accomplish before the end of the year. “We are hearing that they will be doing a fix to take care of doctors before the holidays and that's the vehicle we've been looking for to include the market pricing program (MPP),” said Seth Johnson,...

WATERLOO, Iowa - The tide may be turning on CMS and its competitive bidding program, industry stakeholders told attendees at The VGM Group's Heartland Conference last week. The same week as the conference, Reps. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., and Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, introduced a bill that would delay Round 2 of competitive bidding (see top story). Earlier in the week, they had sent a “Dear Colleague” letter signed by 227 lawmakers, a majority in the House of Representatives, to CMS. “This...

WASHINGTON - Robert Steedley, president of Barnes Healthcare Services in Valdosta, Ga., becomes chairman of AAHomecare at a time of change for both the HME industry and the association. Here's what he had to say about his appointment and AAHomecare's role in shaping the future of the industry. HME News: What's your background in the HME industry? Robert Steedley: I started out in 1988 in pre-hospital care as an EMT in Tennessee. I got a degree in nursing and became an RN in 1992,...

YARMOUTH, Maine - A pair of recent M&A transactions on opposite coasts illustrates what analysts have long predicted: Competitive bidding will drive market consolidation, they say. With prices on the downswing, companies need to build scale, say analysts. “It's quantum shift time,” said Rick Glass, president of Steven Richards & Associates. In May, Mount Vernon, N.Y.-based Landauer Metropolitan merged with Plainview, N.Y.-based Allcare Medical to create one of the largest...

WASHINGTON - Amid growing concerns on Capitol Hill, CMS officials have been asked to report to Senate staff on Round 2 of competitive bidding at a briefing on Tuesday. “The pressure's on,” said Jay Witter, vice president of government affairs for AAHomecare. “The licensure issue is one that CMS has not been able to answer.” The Maryland Office of Healthcare Quality confirmed recently that there are more than 100 contract suppliers that don't meet licensure...

SEATTLE - Several providers testified about the potentially damaging consequences of Medicare's competitive bidding program at a recent regulatory fairness hearing hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to a press release from VGM & Associates. Those who testified voiced concerns that the program's lack of accountability encourages a “race to the bottom” regarding service and quality, and that beneficiaries are the ones who stand to suffer most, the release noted....