Providers Called to Help Round 2021 Delay Effort

AAHomecare calls on HME providers and other industry stakeholders to contact their members of Congress and urge them to support delaying the implementation of Round 2021 of CMS’s competitive bidding program.

• By David Kopf
• Jun 11, 2020

The American Association for Homecare has launched an effort to delay the implementation of Round 2021 of CMS’s competitive bidding program, and is calling on HME providers to help by urging their members of Congress to back the delay.

The issue is that, as a recent AAHomecare survey pointed out, HME providers are experiencing strained supply chains, increased costs, and operational obstacles due to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). This has changed the landscape for Round 2021, but CMS hasn’t altered its plans.

Put simply: bids HME companies submitted in the Fall of 2019 for the next bidding round will not reflect new realities for the healthcare industry in 2021 and beyond,” a statement from the association read. “While CMS and HHS have provided a welcome measure of financial relief and relaxed requirements to help our industry respond to the pandemic, they have not moved off plans to move forward with implementing Round 2021 on Jan. 1, 2021.”

So the association is calling on providers and HME stakeholders to raise awareness of the PHE’s impact on Round 2021. AAHomecare provided some sample messaging:

“Please urge CMS to pause the Bidding Program for at least one year to allow the HME community to make its strongest possible contribution to supporting individuals and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. If CMS is unwilling or unable to pause the program, I ask that you support legislation to delay the Bidding Program.”

AAHomecare has several resources online to help providers with their lobbying:

• An issue brief titled, Congressional Action Needed to Delay Competitive Bidding Program for Durable Medical Equipment.
• A collection of talking points called, Competitive Bidding Round 2021 and COVID-19.
• A web app for sending an emails to lawmakers as part of the outreach. The app provides a draft letter users can customize before sending.