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The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) is a non-profit organization that works to preserve and strengthen access to care for the millions of Americans who require medical care in their homes. AAHomecare represents home medical equipment providers and manufacturers, and other organizations in the homecare community.

Leadership
The chairman of the AAHomecare for 2013-14 is Robert Steedley, president of Barnes Healthcare in Valdosta, Ga. The president is Tom Ryan, who assumed the post on September 16, 2013.

Previous Chairs:
 * David Savitsky – president & CEO, ATC Healthcare, Lake Success, N.Y. – 2001-2002
 * Steve Knoll – EVO Medical Solutions, Topeka, KS – 2002-2003
 * Joel Mills – president & CEO, Advanced Home Care, High Point, NC – 2003-2004
 * Timothy Pontius – managing director, Physicians Technology, Maumee, OH – 2004-2005
 * Tom Ryan – president & CEO, Advanced Homecare Concepts, Farmingdale, N.Y. – 2005-2007
 * Alan Landauer – chairman, Landauer Metropolitan, Mount Vernon, N.Y. – 2007-2009
 * A.J. Filipppis – president & CEO, Wright & Filippis, Rochester Hills, Mich. – 2009-2011
 * Joel Marx – chairman, Medical Service Company, Cleveland, OH – 2011-2013

Previous Presidents:
 * Tyler Wilson – 2006-2013
 * Kay Cox – ?-2006
 * Tom Connaughton ?

History
AAHomecare merged with two other industry groups representing the home medical equipment sector in 2013. The National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers joined the organization on May 23, 2013, and The Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America followed suit on August 1, 2013.

Membership
AAHomecare member companies include providers, distributors, and manufacturers of oxygen equipment, power and manual wheelchairs as well as other mobility aids, medical supplies, diabetic testing products, home infusion, and other home medical equipment products. Member companies also perform related therapies and services in the home, such as oxygen therapy and home infusion. Membership reflects a cross-section of the homecare community, including providers of all sizes operating approximately 3,000 locations in all 50 states.

Key Issues
AAHomecare lobbies Congress, the Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and other agencies on behalf of its membership, with a focus on issues related to Medicare reimbursement practices. A primary aim of the Association is to replace the CMS bidding program for home medical equipment, which began in 2011 and expanded significantly in 2013. Other key issues include streamlining documentation requirements for Medicare reimbursement and limiting the effects of post-payment audits of home medical equipment providers by CMS.

Legislative and regulatory initiatives championed by the group include:
 * Helped generate broad, bipartisan support for H.R. 1717, the Medicare DMEPOS Market Pricing Act of 1717 in the 113th Congress. H.R. 1717 would CMS to make some fundamental changes to ensure a financially sustainable program and transparent bidding system.
 * Secured an exemption for durable medical equipment from the medical device tax provisions in the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
 * Stopped CMS audit contractors from triggering surety bond actions for nominal amounts

Councils
Policy development and advocacy priorities for the Association are led by representatives of AAHomecare member companies serving on these Councils:
 * Complex Rehab & Mobility Council - Coordinates policy and advocacy efforts related to mobility and rehab and assistive technology issues including coding, coverage, and reimbursement for power mobility devices.
 * Home Medical Equipment / Respiratory Therapy Council - Coordinates policy and advocacy efforts related to durable medical equipment and respiratory therapy.
 * Medical Gases Council - Promotes responsible development of, and voluntary compliance with, government regulations, accreditation standards, and other industry standards applicable to the safe manufacture and distribution of medical gases and equipment.
 * Medical Supplies Council - Coordinates policy and advocacy efforts related to issues affecting providers and manufacturers of non-durable home medical supplies including diabetes, incontinence, ostomy, urological, and wound care supplies.
 * Regulatory Council - Monitors, reviews, and develops comments and guidance on regulatory policies that impact the entire HME community. This council is not currently accepting new members.
 * State Leaders Council - Provides a forum for state association executives and leadership to share legislative and regulatory developments in their states and learn how other states have addressed similar issues.
 * Development of White Paper on Value of Homecare: Long-Term Oxygen Therapy - Created to educate members of congress on the importance of home oxygen therapy and the relative value of 1-year provision of supplemental oxygen compared with 1-day in an acute care hospital.

Homecare Champion Award
AAHomecare recognizes Association members who have made exceptional contributions to the HME sector as its Homecare Champions. In 2013, the award was given to Scott Meuser, Chairman & CEO of Pride Mobility, located in Exeter, Penn., and long-time HME advocate Sheldon Prial, who resides in Melbourne, Fla. Previous honorees:
 * 2011: Tom Ryan, president and CEO, Homecare Concepts, Farmingdale, N.Y; and Joe Lewarski, vice president of clinical affairs, Invacare Corp., Elyria, Ohio.
 * 2012: Alan Landauer, chairman, Landauer Metropolitan, Mount Vernon, N.Y; and Van Miller, founder and president, The VGM Group, Waterloo, Iowa.

Legislative Advocate Award
This award recognizes AAHomecare members whose contributions of time, effort, and money (or some combination thereof) have advanced the Association’s government affairs efforts and who have, by example, inspired others to be involved in advocacy in support of the homecare community. The charter recipients of this award in 2012 were Invacare Corp. chairman Mal Mixon and Rob Brant, advisor to the Miami, Fla.-based Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America. In 2013, the honorees were Georgie Blackburn, vice president of government relations & legislative affairs for BLACKBURN's, located in Tarentum, Pa; and Jackie Bolt, owner of the Greenville, S.C.-based Carolina Homecare Medical Equipment Center.

Events
AAHomecare is partner in the semi-annual Medtrade meetings covering the home medical equipment sector, and also holds an annual Washington Legislative Conference to brief members on legislative and policy developments affecting the industry.

Stand Up For Homecare Campaign
The Stand Up for Homecare is a broad-based campaign to get positive, accurate news about home medical equipment into national and local media through direct outreach to media contacts. The campaign also helps homecare providers, their patients, and other stakeholders build positive perceptions of the HME sector on Capitol Hill. The campaign is funded by individual and corporate donations at receptions held at Medtrade.