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Archive: February 2004


News

Ramp franchiser’s sales soar

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

BOSTON, Mass. - With patient care increasingly shifting from hospitals to the home, Julian Gordon found his 30-year-old construction company taking an unlikely detour into the home health market.   Gordon Industries, a Boston-based manufacturer of metal products like doors, railings and stairs, five years ago patented the construction of an easy-to-install, temporary ramp. The ramp's popularity in the home health market gave way to the creation of American Ramp Systems, which has found franchising...

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PWC crackdown ‘paralyzes’ dealers

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

ers WASHINGTON - Medicare's renewed dedication to strictly enforcing coverage criteria that limits power wheelchairs to beneficiaries who are bed- or chair-confined has begun taking its toll on providers. C. Bachenheimer Region B, for example, has initiated “considerably more” claim reviews since CMS and the DMERCs issued coverage “clarification” for power wheelchairs in December, Region B Medical Director Adrian Oleck told HME News last month. “If the patient can...

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Batten down the hatches

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

Publisher, HME News R. Rector I read the news today, oh boy”, begins the old Beatles song. And anyone reading the last few issues of HME News might have the same or an even stronger reaction. Whether we're talking about the Medicare Prescription Drug Act, the new, more highly restrictive criteria for K0011s or the endless chatter about fraud and abuse, our industry has seen better days. Indeed, a friend in the business sent me an e-mail commenting that after he read the latest issue “…it...

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Pennsylvania partners say four heads are better than one

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - If two heads are better then one, than three should provide even more fire power. At least the partners at Dynamic Healthcare, who combined their HME companies two and a half years ago, feel that way. “When you look back, I feel it has been an easy transition, and I think the reason is because we all get along,” said Terry Luft, noting that the partners were friends before combining their businesses. “We couldn't be four random people off the street who came together...

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Briefs

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

Feds arrest eight in giant wheelchair scam DALLAS - Federal authorities last month arrested eight people, including a doctor, for allegedly bilking Medicare out of $15 million in fraudulent power-wheelchair claims, according to the OIG. The defendants recruited more than 1,000 Medicare patients or obtained their insurance information and filed Medicare claims, said Jane Boyle, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas. The alleged crooks were paid for power wheelchairs but provided less-expensive...

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Diabetes

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., and ALAMEDA, Calif. - The words the mainstream media used to describe Abbott Laboratories' acquisition of TheraSense say it all: “Abbott splurges on TheraSense,” and “Abbott Laboratories plunked down $1.2 billion to buy [TheraSense] this week...” Why did Abbott, which recently paid $622 million to resolve allegations that it helped providers bilk Medicare, pay a premium for TheraSense, a diabetes testing manufacturer? Sure, Medicare paid about $750 million...

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Iowa equipment provider feels at home on the range

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

HARTLEY, Iowa - Although headquartered in a town of just 1,700 people, Med-Equip, a locally owned DME and pharmacy, keeps growing and growing and making the most of its rural, agricultural-based home. Two doctors and a pharmacist founded Med-Equip in 1969, and by 1983 the single drugstore had expanded to include home medical equipment and supplies. Currently, Med-Equip boasts six all-service HME locations and four retail pharmacies across Iowa and into South Dakota. “In the new store in Spirit...

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Liberty Medical president resigns

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

PORT LUCIE, Fla. - The resignation of Liberty Health Care Group's president after five years doesn't come as a shock to providers: They describe W. Keith Trowbridge as a “mover and shaker” known for hopping from one company to the next, leaving increased sales and stock prices in his wake. “He always hits hard and strong,” said Marcus Kruk, owner of the Cincinnati-based HME Services, a provider of respiratory medications, diabetes supplies and CPAPs. “He builds companies...

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Respironics retools ventilator

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

MURRYSVILLE, Penn. - Eight years after Respironics acquired home ventilator vendor, Life-Care, the company has overhauled its flagship ventilator, the PLV-100.   The new ventilator - the PLV Continuum - can be used as either a volume ventilator that requires intubation or a non-invasive option. That, says Respironics, will help providers cut inventory and simplify ventilator training. Where the old power source was piston-driven, the Continuum is driven by a blower, which both lightens the...

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Apria dumps big MCO deal

February 29, 2004HME News Staff

COSTA MESA, Calif. - Apria said good-bye to millions of dollars in business in January when it decided to no longer participate in the Gentiva CareCentrix managed care network. The move could potentially open up new business opportunities for independent providers as CareCentrix looks for providers to replace Apria. “What Apria did was smart,” said healthcare consultant Schuyler Hoss. “One of the problems we've seen over the years is people underbidding some of these managed care...

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