April Archives

During the week of April 26, VGM’s John Gallagher traveled throughout Alabama to meet with HME suppliers, the Alabama Durable Medical Equipment Association (ADMEA), and members of the U.S. Congress. Throughout each meeting, a variety of topics were discussed at great length. Topics included accessibility to quality service for Medicare beneficiaries, blended rates for non-rural and rural reimbursement, and HME supplier eligibility in PPE and vaccine distribution. 

(Pictured: Don...

The week of April 19 was a big week for the Big Sky AMES! The group met with all three Montana federal congressional offices; Sens. Daines and Tester, and Freshman Congressman Rep. Rosendale’s offices. 

Big Sky AMES has well-established relationships with the Senator Tester and Senator Daines offices. Those meetings provided an essential, current update with the staff members and the Big Sky AMES folks on the current industry efforts and the goals for the 117th Congress. 

Rep....

Last night, President Biden signed legislation to extend the pause of the 2% Medicare sequestration cuts until December 31, 2021. 

The 2% cuts originally took effect in 2013 but were paused by Congress last year in response to the pandemic and its effect on providers' finances.

A special thanks to all who took the time to reach out to their congressional offices in an effort to gain support for this legislation. Congratulations on this win for the HME Industry!

Last night, the House passed legislation to extend the pause of the 2% Medicare sequestration cuts until December 31, 2021. (Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.)

This is good news for HME providers and hospitals!

The 2% cuts originally took effect in 2013 but were paused by Congress last year in response to the pandemic and its...

President of OMEPA State Association Larry Dalton, OMEPA members, HME providers of Oklahoma, and John Gallagher of VGM gathered at the Oklahoma City capitol this week to encourage OK state senators to vote yes to HME licensure in the state of Oklahoma.

This group had two great meetings today in Oklahoma City. The group met with Rep. Stephanie Bice, Freshman member of Congress (R-OK-5) this morning, as well as a staff member from Sen. Lankford’s office.

Great...

VGM has announced the schedule for its annual Heartland Conference, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2021. Along with traditional in-person presentations, the conference will also feature a virtual component.

VGM’s Heartland Conference, now in its 20th year, is a two-day conference and networking event. It offers education related to the home medical equipment (HME) industry in areas such as respiratory, accessibility, rehab, leadership, operations, sales and marketing, billing and reimbursement,...

Home medical equipment providers and MAMES members in Iowa’s 4th congressional district met with Freshman Representative Randy Feenstra on April 1. The meeting was hosted by Choice Medical of Ames, Iowa. The goal of the meeting was to introduce Rep. Feenstra to the HME industry, discuss the issues, and ask for his support when legislation arises.

The group consisted of Kevin Henning and Jami Tharp of Choice Medical, Jim Schafhauser of MAMES, Brett Barker of Nucara, Gene Lilla and...