Archive: December 2003
Chicago-area giant oozes confidence
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
CHICAGO - Despite all the nail biting surrounding the reimbursement cuts imposed by the new Medicare Prescription Drug Act, Ultra Care appears to have less to worry about than many HMEs.
In November, the city's largest independent acquired the HME, infusion and home respiratory services CareMed of Chicago, the University of Chicago Hospital's homecare business. The deal, precipitated by U of C's decision to focus on its core activities (patient care, teaching and research) boosted Ultra Care's annual...
Human Resources
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
Salary, benefits & all else
With Vince Crew
Q. How do we compete with better compensation offerings from larger competitors coming into our market?
A. Compensation is salary, benefits AND everything else.
Salary: Pay your people the absolute most you can in base pay. Also consider extras based on attaining specific goals (product sales, service plans, product upgrades, etc.) or overall objectives (quarterly or year-end revenue or earnings).
Benefits: This is killing businesses as it gets larger...
Politics
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
HMEs & the new order
With Calvin Cole
Q. How will the accreditation portion of the Medicare bill affect HME dealers?
A. The Medicare Drug Act will dramatically change the way HME providers operate. Because of the new law, our industry has an outstanding opportunity to proactively raise the quality bar. Accreditation is first and foremost a quality improvement; it is the stamp of approval from an independent organization that verifies not only the credentials and processes utilized in our industry...
CMS ignores plea to revamp PWC codes
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The industry entered 2004 with no change in Medicare coding for power wheelchairs, disappointing AAHomecare's rehab council, which worked long and hard dividing four power codes into six.
AAHomecare's Rehab and Assistive Technology Council proposed dividing the K0010, K0011, K0012 and K0014 codes into six new codes. The proposed codes more specifically matched a patient's clinical indicators/condition with the appropriate power chair, said Executive Director Sharon Hildebrandt.
“Our...
Looking for the silver linings
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Â While the new Medicare Prescription Drug Act contains plenty of reimbursement cuts, it is not without a few silver linings for DME providers.
The bill's good news comes in the form of new provisions for appeals and overpayments, said Tim Webster, a healthcare attorney with Brown & Fortunato in Amarillo, Texas.
1. The law limits extrapolation. It says the DMERCs can't use extrapolation to determine the amount of an overpayment unless: (i)There is a sustained or high level of...
Vendors react to Medicare cuts
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
YARMOUTH, Maine - The draconian cuts to HME reimbursement proposed by the Medicare Prescription Drug Act are resurrecting an age-old debate between the cost and the price of home medical equipment.
It is an argument that proponents of lower lifecycle cost believe they're winning, but also an argument that requires more gusto as lower price alternatives woo reimbursement-challenged providers.
Take, for example, this visit by a manufacturer's rep to C&C Homecare in Bradenton, Fla., the day after...
A state of denial
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
SAN CARLOS, Calif. - Daryl Bowman can't figure it out.
Over the past few months, CMS has rejected a handful of claims and recouped from him about $2,000. It seems Bowman, who owns Bowman Medical in San Carlos, Calif., billed Medicare for some capped-rental items even though his patients had entered a skilled nursing facility (SNF).
That's a no-no.
Medicare doesn't want to pay twice for the same item, and as part of their reimbursement, SNFs provide most capped-rental items. (Technically, a provider...
Wheeler Dealer
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
YARMOUTH, Maine - The Wheeler Dealer power wheelchair scam, which came to light in September, continues to haunt and dirty the reputations of legitimate providers.
In mid November, the Associated Press penned and distributed a story highlighting Medicare's “fastest growing new swindle.” That story ran on the front page of newspapers all over the country. On Nov. 20, NBC Nightly News featured the Wheeler Dealer scam during its “Fleecing of America” segment. Both stories gave...
Medicare Reform: What Happened? What’s Next?
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
Well, it happened. President Bush has signed into law what may be the most damaging piece of legislation ever concocted by Congress. The damage done to the HME services industry is best illustrated by one fact: The combined market value of publicly traded providers dropped 30% within days of its passage.
How did this happen? Let's keep in mind two things. First, the industry has more powerful enemies than friends. One House member, Dave Hobson, R-Ohio, stood his ground and said he would not vote...
Billing
December 31, 2003HME News Staff
Watching the detectives
With Peggy Walker
Q. Due to the problems in Houston, Texas and a knee jerk reaction from CMS, the good guys are having a lot of difficulty getting their re-enrollment packages through in any type of timely manner. What can you do to ease this process?
A. Because the NSC is scrutinizing all re-enrollment numbers as well as new numbers, be prepared for the on-site inspection. If you do not have a packet or instructions for your staff on what to do than you need to organize...