Complete Story
07/23/2015
Rural home medical equipment providers are in danger of being hit with devastating Medicare cuts that will close doors and hurt patient care.
Rural home medical equipment providers are in danger of being hit with devastating Medicare cuts that will close doors and hurt patient care.
We're fighting to stop it.
As you know, we have been working with our allies on Capitol Hill to build support for expected legislation that would provide a 30 percent increase in reimbursement over the bidding-derived prices, a four-year phase-in period for these rates, and includes a provision that would reinstate the bid cap at the unadjusted fee schedule.
Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) is working on finalizing legislative language for a bill incorporating these concepts.
Accordingly, OAMES is in a full court press to build support this forthcoming legislation.
To build awareness and drive grassroots action among HME business owners and employees, AAHomecare has developed a new online presence that can be found via Action.AAHomecare.org/stopthecuts. We are asking for your help in the push to raise the volume on this issue and jumpstart support of the expected legislation.
An email or a call to a Congressional office may seem like a drop in the bucket, but as we work towards the introduction of this new legislation, we need Congressional offices to be hearing from their constituents on this issue. Numbers matter. These calls and emails educate policymakers, apply pressure, and swing key legislators to our side.
Join the fight at
Action.AAHomecare.org/stopthecuts
Start Spreading the Word!
If you work at an HME company, forward this link Action.AAHomecare.org/stopthecuts to everyone you work with and explain that our friends and colleagues businesses and livelihood are on the line - no one is immune from the impacts of these cuts. Ask them to visit the site and send an email to Congress telling them to stop the cuts.
Doing Nothing Will Be the Kiss of Death: Prepare Now for Congressional Recess
On August 3, Congress will start its month long summer recess. During the recess, legislators will travel back to their districts.
This is a perfect opportunity for HME providers to explain the devastating impact of expanding bid rates outside of bid areas face-to-face to their Representatives and Senators. It is time for members of Congress to hear first-hand how these cuts will kill small business in rural areas.
Meet with your Representative and Senators in August. Take them on a tour of your facility, go to a district meeting or town hall meeting, or attend a rally. Introduce yourself, shake their hand, look them in the eye, and tell your story.
In the meantime, here are some ways that you can help right now:
- Download the Stop the Cuts flyer on the expansion of competitive bidding rates to non-bid areas so that you can learn the main talking points.
- Visit Action.AAHomecare.org/stopthecuts and send an email to Congress telling them to stop the cuts.
- Call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to your member’s Health Legislative Assistant. Ask them to meet with them while they are in town in August or leave a message if need be.
- Look up your member’s office line using the congressional directory in AAHomecare’s Action Center. Call that number directly and try to reach the Health Legislative Assistant again.
Spread the word! Forward this article to a colleague and ask for their support!
