Archive: September 2004
TV drives Helios business
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
PLEASANTON, Calif. - Puritan Bennett's Helios television ads are generating 15,000 calls per quarter, according to Raj Roychoudhury, group marketing manager for respiratory home care.
The ads started in three markets in the spring of 2002 and are now running on a regular basis in all the major metropolitan markets. Typically, PB runs the ads on cable TV channels simultaneously in 10 different markets per quarter. As customers dial into the call center, PB routes referrals to dealers who provide...
Sellers beware
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
YARMOUTH, Maine - A red-hot mergers and acquisition market has spawned a surge in brokers looking to cash in on providers who don't know the ropes when it comes to maximizing the sale value of their companies.
The scam, which is unethical but not illegal, works like this: A broker approaches an HME with a would-be buyer who, the broker says, has expressed interest in the company. The broker says the HME has to pay him a fee only if the interested party acquires the company. The broker then tries...
CMS council addresses new technologies
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - CMS's new Council on Technology and Innovation (CTI) should help grease the wheels for DME manufacturers trying to obtain coverage for new products and technologies.
The council will bring together senior CMS officials from clinical, coverage and payment areas in order to streamline the current process of getting new products added to coverage policy.
“A better way would be to have all the people who deal with those components talking at the same time and thinking about it in...
Bigger & better data
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
Just received my September issue of HME News today and wanted to congratulate you and thank you for the white paper on the state of the industry. There were some very informative graphs in the insert and valuable information. I look forward to reading HME each month and will look forward to an even better more detailed state of the industry report in 2005.
- Joseph Sunderland works at Apria in Hawaii
No more fraud
Re: ‘More HME scandal brews in Florida' (see recent news story and HME Newswire...
OIG Medicaid memo raises eyebrows
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Anyone reading a recent report from the Office of Inspector General might easily get the impression that Medicaid rates for oxygen are soaring out of control. In actuality though, only a handful of states have set Medicaid allowables above the Medicare rate and at least one from that group is reportedly revising it.
An OIG report issued in July found that of 850,000 paid oxygen-related claims totaling $90 million, Medicaid paid six of the nine states audited approximately $12.7 million...
To stare down disaster, you need a plan
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
YARMOUTH, Maine - Hurricane Charley, which struck Florida in August, reinforced once again the need for providers to have an emergency preparedness plan that can be easily implemented when disaster strikes.
“You don't want to wait until you are 12 hours from being hit by a category three storm to pick up the phone and start calling hospitals to try and find a bed for your patients on life support,” said industry attorney and consultant Richard Tuten. “You don't want to be calling...
Saunders wins $515 HCPCS
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
CHASKA, Minn. - Seven years after the Saunders Group asked Medicare for a HCPCS code to cover its home cervical traction device, the DMERCs issued a local coverage determination policy effective July 1.
The DMERCs plan to allow reimbursement of about $515 for Saunders Cervical Hometrac Deluxe, a traction device that provides up to 50 pounds of force. The device provides aggressive treatment for such ailments as whiplash, degenerative discs, muscle soreness and headaches.
The market for home cervical...
Financials
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
Respironics
MURRYSVILLE, Pa. - Domestic sales of Respironics' sleep therapy products jumped in the fourth quarter by 28% over the same quarter last year. Overall, revenues increased by 16% to $206 million for the company's fourth quarter, and to $760 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30. That compares to $630 million in sales for previous year. Most of the company's growth was organic since its acquisition of Novametrix and Fuji RC were completed in 2002.
Invacare
ELYRIA, Ohio - Invacare's...
Providers get a break on offsets
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - During all the industry uproar regarding HME reimbursement cuts contained in the Medicare Modernization Act, a component of the law that can actually help a provider's cash flow has come into play more and more.
According to language in the MMA: If DMERC officials determine a provider has received an overpayment and the provider requests an appeal of that decision in writing, the carrier can't recoup the overpayment until the appeal is concluded and a decision rendered.
“There...
Transitions
September 30, 2004HME News Staff
Providers
At the Arizona Medical Equipment Suppliers Association (AZMESA), 3rd annual conference in June, the members voted in a new board of directors. Serving AZMESA for 2004-2005: President: Steven Treinen, Banner Health System; Vice President: Mark Farmer, Southwest Mobility; Secretary: Curt McLees, OrthoRehab; Treasurer: Patti Hartzell, Sierra Medical Supply; Past President: Richard McKee, Dependable Health Services Inc. Voted to the board of directors was Maureen Hanna, Healthcare Reimbursement...