June Archives

The DME MACs released an FAQ on the Philips Respironics products recall. You can access these FAQs by downloading this PDF or by clicking here.

Please contact Ronda Buhrmester with any questions you may have by emailing her at [email protected] or calling her at 217-493-5440.

 

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On Wednesday, ABC Health Care in Richmond held a meeting with Rep. Donald McEachin’s staff. Rep. McEachin is a Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce committee. It is key to have the Energy and Commerce members’ support going forward with legislation.

During the meeting, the group discussed concerns with HME access and reimbursement, HME supplier difficulties, and areas of assistance during the pandemic, just to name a few.

Rep. McEachin’s staff...

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On June 23, CMS announced a 90-day extension of the suspension of the application of Medicare Competitive Bidding Program pricing to CRT manual wheelchair accessories. The current policy will stay in place through October 1 and there will not be any payment cuts or claims processing changes.

The announcement reads, “CMS is actively reviewing public comments submitted to the agency on related rulemakings, including engaging in future rulemaking, and will update interested stakeholders...

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If you don’t have a COVID-19 plan or designated COVID-19 safety coordinators, the clock is ticking. According to OSHA’s COVID-19 ETS (Emergency Temporary Standard), employers have 14 to 30 days to comply with new standards, depending on the provision. 

As of Monday, June 21, 2021, OSHA’s COVID-19 ETS has appeared on the Federal Register website as an Interim Final Rule with request for comments.This ETS stems from an Executive Order signed by President...

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June 15, 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) today re-introduced legislation to ensure breast cancer patients and survivors who have experienced a mastectomy are able to access custom breast prosthetics under Medicare. The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act of 2021 would provide coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses—which, unlike other prosthetic devices, are not currently covered by Medicare—to the more than...

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Please reach out to your member of Congress today asking them to sign the letter to CMS asking to extend the manual wheelchair accessories exemption from the competitive bidding program. 

Legislative provisions exempting manual CRT accessories from competitive bidding-derived pricing are set to expire on June 30, 2021. Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) is circulating a Congressional sign-on letter asking CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks‐LaSure to extend that exemption. 

In...

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HHS has revised the Post-Payment Notice of Reporting Requirements - PDF as of today, June 11, 2021.

 ** Please note, the link to the PDF document has been intermittenly working. You can also click here for additional information. 

This new version supersedes all previous versions of the...

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On June 9th, John Gallagher joined MAMES Member Patrick Naeger from Healthcare Equipment & Supply Co. at an event in Cape Girardeau, Missouri for Rep. Jason Smith. Rep. Smith is the ranking member of the House Budget Committee and serves on Ways and Means (subcommittees: Human Resources, Social Security). He represents the 8th district of Missouri, a large chunk of the state that is home to 45 HME (Home Medical Equipment) suppliers and many rural communities.

Naeger had this...

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Yesterday the Northeast Medical Equipment Providers Association (NEMEP) was featured in an article in The Center Square. The article, “Medical equipment providers look to New York lawmakers for relief from partial reimbursements,” discusses low reimbursement rates, and the lack of medical equipment providers as a result. John Quinlan, association president and president of Quinlan’s Pharmacy and Medical Equipment, states in the article, “There are 12 counties...

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On Wednesday June 2nd, MAMES members met with staff from Rep. Angie Craig’s (D-MN-02) office in Burnsville, MN. Rep. Angie Craig sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee as well as Small Business Committee. Her district houses competitive bid areas, rural and non-rural areas.

Discussions included:

Improved accessibility to quality services and products to patients The reimbursement rates for HME during the PHE remain in place after the PHE is over Home medical...

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