A new survey from the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) is asking home medical equipment (HME) suppliers how Medicare funding cuts are affecting their businesses and impacting beneficiary access to medically necessary equipment.

In a July 8 news announcement, AAHomecare announced a national survey “on the impact of the expired Medicare fee-for-service 75/25 blended rate for non-bid/non-rural areas on the HME community and Medicare patients’ access to medically necessary equipment.”

HME suppliers serving Medicare beneficiaries in non-rural/non-bid areas are being encouraged to take the survey.

75/25 blended Medicare funding relief ended in January

The 75/25 blended Medicare fee-for-service relief rate for non-bid/non-rural areas ended on Jan. 1, 2024. That rate “provided an average 32% rate increase for the top 25 HCPCS [codes] and impacted all products that were previously part of the competitive bidding program,” AAHomecare said. “Your input will help in this assessment and provide vital information regarding the impact of this rate reduction on beneficiaries.”

The survey asks participants to “indicate your experience as a home medical equipment supplier since Jan. 1, 2024.”

All reporting of collected data will be done in the aggregate. “Company-specific or identifiable information is strictly confidential and will not be shared,” AAHomecare said.

“AAHomecare and other HME stakeholders continue to push for legislation to restore the 75/25 blended rates suppliers in non-bid, non-rural areas, and we want to strengthen our advocacy with state-specific data,” said Tom Ryan, AAHomecare’s president and CEO. “Your responses will help us share a clearer picture on how the Jan. 1 cuts are challenging HME suppliers and threatening access to care.

“We need to let Congress know our pain points, and we need to make it clear what’s at stake if we don’t get this relief soon.”

AAHomecare said policy makers on Capitol Hill have requested state-specific information on the impact of funding cuts. Information from the survey “will bolster efforts to include restoring 75/25 blended rates in health-care or omnibus legislative packages later this year.”

The deadline to fill out the survey is July 19.