AAHomecare Update: Leveraging HME’s Value

A central theme at Medtrade’s Wednesday AAHomecare Update will be how the industry can make the most of the value to U.S. healthcare it demonstrated during COVID.

• By David Kopf
• Jul 12, 2021

On Wednesday, at 8:30 a.m., the American Association for Homecare will present its regularly featured AAHomecare Update at Medtrade West, and topping the agenda will be a discussion of how the industry can make the most of the value it has demonstrated during the COVID-19 PHE.

“The last 18 months have seen our industry provide exceptional home-based care under challenging conditions and also play a major role in reducing the extraordinary stress on hospitals and clinicians during the pandemic,” AAHomecare President and CEO Tom Ryan said. “Now we need to focus on how we can leverage that experience which has demonstrated our value like never before and get policymakers and payers to make a stronger investment in HME.”

Sponsored by HME Business, the AAHomecare Update follows a new format that was introduced at the 2020 edition of Medtrade West: rather than have individual presentations from association staff, those team members will field questions first from HME Business and then from the audience on a range of topics. This way, attendees have a chance to interact more with the association’s senior staff.

First to go will be Ryan, who will be followed by Jay Witter, senior vice president of public policy; then Kim Brummett, vice president of regulatory affairs; and last but not least Laura Williard, vice president of payer relations.

After HMEB interviews each staff member for roughly 15 minutes, the audience can then ask them questions. Once the audience questions are finished, the presentation moves to the next member of the panel.

Ryan said he feels the new format made the session more engaging for both the panelists and the audience and received “very positive” feedback last year.

“One great thing about the new format is that it gives attendees more opportunities to ask questions throughout, rather than just having a Q&A at the end,” he said. “It definitely helped spur more audience questions when we first used it, and I hope we get even more at this session. If you have a question about HME policy, this is the best place to share it — we want to hear from you.”

And that’s important because Ryan added that he wants to ensure the industry association has the involvement of providers in the industry. For provides who have been curious to learn more about the association and its work on behalf of the industry, Wednesday’s AAHomecare Update provides a good opportunity to learn more.

“If you want an improved business operating environment for your company, if you want sustainable reimbursement policy and strong patient access to HME — then you should be aware of and involved in the advocacy efforts to secure them,” he said. “Joining us at the AAHomecare Update is a great place to get started on that path.”