The American Association for Homecare will appear on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” this Saturday, Sept. 5 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time to speak on HME and oxygen.
Representing the association will be Joel Marx, president and CEO of Medical Service Company in Cleveland and chair of AAHomecare’s HME/RT Advisory Council.
Marx is speaking after AAHomcare shared its concerns to C-SPAN regarding what it called “wildly inaccurate” statements made by Bruce Vladeck, the former Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (from 1993 to 1997), who appeared on the program last Friday.
The segment with Vladeck can be viewed at http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2009/08/28/WJE/A/22555/Tom+Scully+Fmr+CMMS+Administrator+Bruce+Vladeck+Fmr+HCFA+Administrator.aspx.
Michael Reinemer, vice president for Communications and Policy for AAHomecare sent an email rebuttal that was later read by the C-SPAN host. The rebuttal noted that Congress cut oxygen in 1997, 2003, 2005, and 2008, and in a later on-air phone call, Reinemer also highlighted cuts to HME rates, including the 9.5 percent cuts made in order to delay CMS’s competitive bidding program, and HME’s less-than-1-precent growth in Medicare spending.
Vladeck responded that he “misspoke” about DME and oxygen cuts.
