AAHomecare Asks DOD for Support on TRICARE Claims

TRICARE West contractor HNFS is not reimbursing claims per the CARES Act rates. AAHomecare is urging providers to support a letter campaign.

• By David Kopf
• Nov 05, 2020

The American Association for Homecare has called on the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs to direct TRICARE West contractor Health Net Federal Services (HNFS) to automatically reprocess DME claims to reflect rates per the CARES Act retroactive to March 6. 

The letter detailed CMS’s reimbursement changes due to the CARES Act and underscored TRICARE’s policy that providers must accept the “maximum allowable charge” for DMEPOS based on Medicare’s fee schedule.

“In our previous experience working with TRICARE, we’ve found that Federal authorities have responded more rapidly when claims issues were raised by suppliers,” an update from the national HME association noted. “Accordingly, we are asking suppliers serving TRICARE beneficiaries to ask the Defense Health Agency to direct HNFS to retroactively process claims at the correct rates automatically.”

Providers that participate in the TRICARE network can download a Microsoft Word document from AAHomecare to send a letter to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs Thomas McCaffery, urging him to issue a mandate to HNFS requiring it to automatically reprocess all DMEPOS claims per CARES.

“Feel free to add details about your company’s commitment to providing high-quality care to TRICARE beneficiaries,” AAHomecare’s statement advised. “Sending your request via regular postal mail is preferred.”