American Association for Homecare Urges U.S. Senate to Pass Medicare Bill, H.R. 6331,...

American Association for Homecare Urges U.S. Senate to Pass Medicare Bill,
H.R. 6331, Which Includes Important Reforms to Medicare Bidding

ARLINGTON, Va., June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a
statement by the American Association for Homecare:

Competition in Medicare should be fair and it should not reduce access to
critical home medical equipment and services for seniors or people with
disabilities in Medicare.

Congress has developed a bipartisan proposal that reforms and improves the
competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment and those
improvements are incorporated into H.R. 6331, the Medicare package that passed
in the House of Representatives by a vote of 355 to 59. The Senate is expected
to vote on H.R. 6331 as early as this evening.

Reform proponents in Congress want to fix a broken competitive bidding program
that, unless improved, will eliminate thousands of qualified providers from
Medicare, reduce competition among home medical equipment providers, and
reduce services and access to care for Medicare beneficiaries. As the program
currently stands, the bidding program will trigger widespread disruptions in
service to beneficiaries who require oxygen therapy, power wheelchairs, CPAPs,
diabetic supplies, and other items and services that help them live healthy,
independent lives.

If passed by Congress, the bidding reforms included in H.R. 6331, will recoup
every dime of the savings anticipated by the program.

The American Association for Homecare supports H.R. 6331. Other organizations
that support the reforms to the bidding program include the ALS Association,
the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and
United Spinal Association.

This controversial bidding program is scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2008
in Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Miami, Orlando,
Pittsburgh, Pa.; Riverside, Calif., and San Juan, P.R. The program is
scheduled to expand to 70 additional areas in the U.S. in 2009.

In Florida, Ohio and Texas, Medicare has awarded contracts to some homecare
providers that do not meet basic state licensure requirements. This occurred
despite the fact that Medicare is touting that this program will ensure new
quality standards. There are also loopholes that allow winning contractors to
employ subcontractors who are not accredited (a requirement for winning a bid)
and do not meet any standard of care threshold. The homecare industry has
strongly supported mandatory accreditation for decades, since the government
has allowed fraud to flourish in Medicare. If the government cannot enforce
those standards, it is consumers who will suffer.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who proposed several
needed improvements, said, "I am supportive of competitive bidding as a means
of reducing cost, but that cannot be accomplished at the expense of low
quality and inconsistent care." His Republican counterpart, Charles Grassley
(R-Iowa), noted, "These improvements also will help prevent many small home
medical equipment suppliers from going out of business."

The argument that Medicare rates for home care should be based on prices for
medical equipment purchased on the Internet fails to grasp the fundamental
service-intensive nature of homecare. This fuzzy Internet vs. homecare
comparison discounts the sharp reality that serving frail Medicare patients at
home requires essential services that ensure quality of care.

For instance, buying a walker at Wal-Mart or online is completely different
from providing the same walker to a senior who is discharged from the hospital
and returns home. Service requirements are imposed by both Medicare and the
accrediting bodies even for walkers. The Medicare supplier standards and the
Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations require
providers to conduct patient/caregiver education to prevent falls in the home.
Hospitals often require a two-hour turnaround for discharge and delivery and
set-up of required equipment to the patient's home. The comparison also
ignores the extensive paperwork, regulations, and billing requirements imposed
by Medicare and required for reimbursement of the cost of the walker to the
homecare provider.

The law requiring bidding is five years old, but the implementation rules were
not announced until last year. After taking over six months to review bids,
Medicare is now rushing implementation, issuing policies via conference calls
just days before the go-live date, and providing incomplete and inconsistent
information to beneficiaries. If not fixed now, a bad program spreads to 70
more cities in the months ahead.

The U.S. Senate has a chance to improve the bidding program while saving
billions of dollars and preserving access to homecare.

See www.aahomecare.org for details.

CONTACTS: Michael Reinemer, 703-535-1881, michaelr@aahomecare.org; Tilly
Gambill, 703-535-1896, tillyg@aahomecare.org.

The American Association for Homecare represents providers of durable medical
equipment and related services and supplies as well as the manufacturers of
that equipment. Members serve the medical needs of millions of Americans who
require home oxygen equipment, wheelchairs and other mobility products,
hospital beds, medical supplies, inhalation drug therapy, home infusion, and
other medical equipment, products, and services, delivered in the patient's
home. Provider members operate more than 3,000 homecare locations in all 50
states. See www.aahomecare.org.

SOURCE American Association for Homecare

Michael Reinemer, +1-703-535-1881, michaelr@aahomecare.org, or Tilly Gambill,
+1-703-535-1896, tillyg@aahomecare.org, both of American Association for
Homecare