American Association for Homecare representatives met with several legislators, as well as staffers on key committees of jurisdiction this week to discuss key reimbursement issues.

Tom Ryan, AAHomecare’s president and CEO, and Jay Witter, senior vice president of public policy for the association, were working to build support in the House of Representatives for H.R. 6641 and working with Senate contacts on approaches to preserve the current 75/25 blended rate for non-rural, non-CBA suppliers beyond the end of the public health emergency (PHE).

Introduced into the House by Reps. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), H.R. 6641, aka The DMEPOS Relief Act of 2022, would apply 90/10 blended Medicare reimbursement for items in the 13 product categories CMS did not award contracts for in Round 2021 of competitive bidding. The increased rates would apply to claims from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023.

Preserving the 75/25 reimbursement would represent a significant reimbursement gain for non-rural providers. CMS did an estimate that was published by the non-partisan analysis group Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), and the analysis showed that the 75/25 blend represented a 33 percent reimbursement increase. For comparison, the 50/50 blend represented a 66 percent increase.

“Our champions on Capitol Hill understand the need for aligning Medicare reimbursement rates with market realities, and they understand the urgency for getting this relief,” Ryan said. “The next few months will be critical for building more support on this issue.”

Providers can help get lawmakers to co-sponsor H.R. by visiting AAHomecare’s Medicare Reimbursement Campaign Central page for messaging and guidance on engaging their Representatives about H.R. 6641.