The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) announced that the House of Representatives’ latest short-term spending bill did not include the 75/25 blended rate legislation that would have provided funding relief for home medical equipment (HME) suppliers.
The spending bill, which was passed on Thurs., Jan. 18, will keep the government funded “until the beginning of March, buying lawmakers more time to finish the formal appropriations process,” AAHomecare said. “This stop-gap legislation does not include various healthcare extender measures, including our provision to continue the 75/25 blended rate for Medicare reimbursement in non-rural areas.”
H.R. 2872 — “Making further continuing appropriations for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2024, and for other purposes” — passed in the House with a 314 to 108 vote, and in the Senate by a 77 to 18 vote, according to Roll Call.
Keeping the conversation going
Despite the disappointment of having the industry’s legislation excluded, AAHomecare urged industry stakeholders to keep pushing the funding relief legislation.
“We are continuing to work with our champions,” AAHomecare said in a Jan. 19 announcement, “as well as influential legislators and committee staff, to pass our legislation in the next funding package, which would need to be passed by March 1, and are emphasizing to members of the House and Senate that the cuts have now gone into effect and are impacting suppliers. As currently structured, the funding bills for different government agencies would need approval by March 1 and March 8.
“We need to remain engaged and keep the volume up on extending the 75/25 rates through 2024. The impacts of losing this relief will be keenly felt by a large segment of the supplier community, and we must communicate the urgency of restoring the 75/25 blended rate to legislators.”