02/22/2024

HME Leaders Continue to Raise the Urgency on 75/25 Provisions on Capitol Hill

Article below was published in the AAHomecare Insider 2/21/24:

AAHomecare’s lobbying team and other HME stakeholders remain engaged in advocating for including extended 75/25 blended-rate relief among healthcare provisions in government spending packages needed in advance of March 1 and March 8 funding deadlines. HHS funding is subject to the March 8 deadline.

In a recent message to AAHomecare Board/Council members, Grassroots Accountability Program participants, and individuals who joined our virtual legislative events in 2023, AAHomecare President & CEO Tom Ryan asked leaders in our industry to:

Please make a direct request, by email and/or phone call, to healthcare staffers for your Senators and Representatives. Ask that the Senator/Representative reach out to leadership in their respective chambers in support of including DMEPOS relief in non-rural areas among healthcare provisions in the next government funding legislative package.  

Additional language and messaging guidance for contacting your legislators can be found here. 

You can also note that cuts have already taken effect and share how they are impacting your ability to support your patients. You can bolster your arguments with figures from this analysis of the cuts across 25 major HCPCS codes in your emails and calls (specifically using the figures from the far-right column: 2024 v 2023 non-rural rates).

Reach out to Gordon Barnes at gordonb@aahomecare.org for healthcare staff contact information and any other assistance you need in crafting and delivering your message.

HME advocates can also add to the 5,000+ messages sent in support of extending the 75/25 relief using our Voter Voice advocacy tool. You can edit the pre-drafted letter to include more details about your company and patients, as well as how the disconnect between current reimbursement rates and rising product and operational costs are affecting your business and your patients.

Ryan’s note to AAHomecare leaders concluded: 

Your determined grassroots advocacy has brought us to the doorstep of achieving substantial relief for HME and is directly supporting our current round-the-clock lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. Let’s kick the door down over these next two weeks and bring home a major win for HME!