COVID-19: AAH organizes letter to commercial payers WASHINGTON – More than 150 HME companies have signed a letter with policy recommendations to help providers better serve patients and ease burdens on hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic, AAHomecare reports.
The 18 recommendations in the letter to commercial payers include providing coverage for short-term oxygen for patients with acute conditions; allowing for coverage and reimbursement of equipment, supplies and services provided to patients with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis; waiving all prior authorization and re-authorization requirements for all DMEPOS items and repairs; and maintaining a normal schedule for claims adjudication and processing.
“We appreciate the strong response from the HME community in such a short time frame,” the association stated.
The letter will be sent to all major commercial payers, including UnitedHealthcare, Anthem, Humana, Aetna, the BCBS Association, Kaiser Permanente, Highmark, CareCenterix, Centene, Blue Shield of CA and HealthNet.
AAHomecare encourages providers to share the letter with any other third-party payers that they work with.