AAHomecare Legislative Event Notches 240-plus Meetings

HME advocates participating in Sept. 21 Virtual Washington Legislative Conference met with nearly 10 percent more House and Senate offices in push to advance various industry objectives.

• By David Kopf
• Sep 22, 2022

The meeting tally at this year’s conference marked nearly a 10 percent increase over last year’s virtual conference.

During the meetings, industry advocates shared their experiences and policy recommendations with lawmakers and staff via video conference-enabled meetings. AAHomecare implemented the virtual version of the event due to Covid-19 and Congress’s lockdown measures, which are ongoing.

Issues covered in these Zoom-enabled sessions included:

• Support for H.R. 6641
• Extending 75/25 blended rates beyond the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE)
• Preventing across the board PAYGO Medicare cuts for 2023
• Maintaining access for oxygen and CGM patients who qualified for coverage under relaxed criteria during the PHE

To learn more about these issues, AAHomecare provided an online slide deck that was used in training and related policy documents that were used in meetings.

“Face-to-face — and screen-to-screen — grassroots advocacy is the foundation for effective HME legislative and public policy efforts,” a statement from AAHomecare read. “Thanks to the 158 HME leaders who are helping move the ball forward for policy priorities that support high-quality, home-based care today. We want even more advocates at next year’s conference — join us!”