In a summary statement from AAHomecare, the Access to Medical Supplies Act would “pause Medicare competitive bidding for ostomy and urological supplies giving CMS, the DMEPOS industry, and consumer groups five years to assess whether these products are appropriate for bidding and how to protect patient access.”
Leadership at AAHomecare wholeheartedly welcomed the introduction of this bill by Reps. Greg Murphy, M.D. (R-NC) and Brad Schneider (D-IL) on October 9th.
Tom Ryan, President and CEO of AAHomecare, states: “Before CMS enacts a program that reshapes how patients receive highly personalized medical supplies, it should understand exactly what is at stake. Reps. Murphy and Schneider's bipartisan bill allows CMS to study the impact, test it, and hear from patients and providers before making changes that could disrupt access across the country. We urge every member of Congress to support this bill and protect patient access.”
CMS created a national Remote Item Delivery (RID) Competitive Bidding Program in its DMEPOS/Home Health final rule. This effectively established a single nationwide competition rather instead of disparate competitions across geographic areas. Ostomy and urological supplies have been named among the RID product categories for the January 2028 bidding round.
In the past, AAHomecare members have warned CMS and White House officials of the potential harm to patient access that the inclusion of these supplies could bring about, and the bill seems to be a step in the right direction to keep these medically necessary supplies available.
More updates to come.
