CQRC CHAIR MENCHEN WANTS TO PROTECT PATIENT ACCESS AMID BIDDING, OTHER CONCERNS

As the new chair of the Council for Quality Respiratory Care, Robin Menchen has a lot of irons in the fire, including the SOAR Act, the new national coverage determination for non-invasive ventilation and the return of competitive bidding. Menchen, who is also president and CEO of Rotech Healthcare, spoke with HME News about the organization’s priorities and where the industry can look for opportunity. 

HME News: The big news in the industry right now is the return of competitive bidding. What are the CQRC’s initial concerns? 

Robin Menchen: There are many things in competitive bidding that are concerning for our industry and No. 1 would be access to oxygen for those patients who need it. We’ve gotten a lot of support for the SOAR Act, (which would remove supplemental oxygen from the program), from patient advocacy groups. With competitive bidding, there’s still a lot we don’t know or understand about this rule since they left out many things, such as the product categories, the timelines, those types of things. But the CQRC is very involved in talking to our congressmen about competitive bidding and removing oxygen from competitive bidding. 

HME: Assuming CMS moves full steam ahead with the program, is there opportunity to improve reimbursement? 

Menchen: I think there’s an opportunity there to get back to looking for a fair price for the government. But that doesn’t mean there’s a savings every single time there’s a bid. It’s got to be about quality of care for the patients. It’s got to be about a fair price for the services that we deliver. We’ve got to be able to show our costs are not going down. No one’s costs are going down – gas or what we pay our employee, benefits. We’re all seeing that rise. But, you know, if you have a bidding program and the price goes up, then you need to award contracts that fair price. 

HME: Another priority for the industry is the new national coverage determination for non-invasive vents, which left out some changes the industry suggested. Where does the CQRC stand on that right now? 

Menchen: We are pushing for a glide path of at least 12 months to implementation. We know that the machines that are in patients’ homes or on our shelves today do not have the capacity or capability to do what we need them to do to even comply with the NCD. But, ultimately, we will make it happen.  

HME: As CQRC chair, what is your message to lawmakers and regulators about the importance of home care? 

Menchen: The best, the cheapest place for these patients to get care is in their home. With as many people as we have aging, we don’t have any other places for these patients to get care. I mean, there are not enough beds out there. So, we’ve got to do our part as an industry. My concern is that with these costs that we currently have, and our reimbursement rates continuing to go down, there’s no room for innovation. Why are people going to spend money innovating (if) no one’s going to be able to pay for it. The suppliers for the equipment, the systems that we use, the enhancements – we won’t be able to afford those things. So, by continuing to do nothing but focus on driving the price down, we’re going to lose innovation in our industry.