10/16/2023

Continue Pushing Support for Medicare Rate Relief Legislation, HR 5555 & S.1294

House legislation was introduced last month by Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Paul Tonko (D-NY) that provides relief for Medicare suppliers which will be critical to include in an omnibus legislative package expected later in the year ahead of looming cuts in January 2024. 

HR 5555, The DMEPOS Relief Act of 2023, provides a 90/10 blended Medicare reimbursement rate (90% adjusted payment rate/10% unadjusted fee schedule rate) for most home medical equipment products in Competitive Bidding Areas, effective Jan. 1, 2024, through the end of 2024. 

We urge Ohio HME providers to reinforce the value of high-quality care and put a spotlight on the need to extend and expand relief for HME providers. The clock is ticking so please reach out to your legislators in support of S. 1294 and HR 5555! A personal email to healthcare staffers for your Senators and Representative will help continue to raise the profile of legislative asks. 

Growing co-sponsor support is critical to improving the chances for our measures to be included in end-of-year legislative packages. Without these measures, suppliers in non-bid areas will lose rate increases averaging 32% across highly utilized product categories, and suppliers in former CBAs will go another year without a long-overdue, market-based rate adjustment. The time for action is now!

You can find everything you need to make the case in AAHomecare’s Medicare Reimbursement Legislation Campaign Central page, as well as links to pre-written messages you can send via their Voter Voice advocacy system. If you have any questions about the bills or the messaging, please feel free to contact OAMES executive director Kam Yuricich.  This will also be a key topic at OAMES Annual Meeting & Exhibition this week in Columbus presented by industry veterans Cara Bachenheimer, Esq. with Brown & Fortunato and Jay Witter with the American Association for Homecare.