The American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010

The Senate passed the American Workers, State and Business Relief Act of 2010. If signed into law, this bill will extend Medicare reimbursement rates at their current level and extend for 6 months a temporary increase in the federal medical assistance percentage.

This bill will probably have effects on DME accreditation as well. I will link to information on that shortly.

DME

Here is a news story out of Montana regarding the official signing of the DME accreditation delay. I addressed this bill in a couple previous postings as well as my upcoming newsletter.

"Tester argued that the accreditation process can be expensive and time consuming for community pharmacies that are often the only option for seniors in rural communities. He also argued that accreditation is redundant, as pharmacies are already subject to oversight and regulation as medical professionals and as state-licensed businesses."

DME Medicare Delay

For those concerned about the durable medical equipment accreditation Medicare deadline for pharmacies, a bill is awaiting signature by President Obama to push back the deadline until December 31, 2009. It has already been passed by the House and Senate.

"The Senate acted wisely to ensure seniors can continue purchasing essential medical supplies from their community pharmacies. Without it, thousands of independent community pharmacies would be forced to stop supplying diabetes testing supplies and other products to their patients." Bruce Roberts, National Community Pharmacists Association EVP and CEO