There are acquisition and merger activities and new start-ups. Home care providers worried about staying in business when the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 clipped 30 percent from their already low oxygen reimbursement rates. Already these companies struggled to include a service component when they got paid only to deliver and rent equipment. Goals Remain Unchanged Changes include a mix of telephone and home visits from caregivers such as respiratory therapists and shipping supplies via UPS instead of company delivery. Home care providers serving Medicare patients still struggle with the legacy of the Balanced Budget Act.
Competitive bidding is one such item.
Tom Connaughton, president of the American Association for Home Care, an advocacy group for home care providers based in Alexandria, Va., agrees. Quality Issues Surface Quality issues in competitive bidding quickly emerged in two pilot projects launched in San Antonio, Texas, and Polk County, Fla., he reported. Home care advocates do not like the concept of competitive bidding because they believe it could lead to lower standards. Connaughton, for example, suggested service should be an incentive not to lower standards and, therefore, prices. Connaughton and Lewarski also worry about the average wholesale price system of reimbursing for respiratory and infusion drugs.