Archive: January 2005
Lincare acquires 14-location Merriam-Graves
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
Mike Moran, managing editor
CHARLESTOWN, N.H. - Lincare renewed its on-again-off-again courtship last month with one of the largest independent HMEs in northern New England when it acquired Merriam-Graves.
“Merriam-Graves is no longer in the home medical equipment business,” said a source close to the deal.
Merriam-Graves is a subsidiary of an industrial gas company by the same name. The HME derives 60% to 70% of its revenue from home respiratory services and operates 14 locations...
At A&R Medical, success is transparent
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - As A&R Medical Supply restructured itself in Chapter 11 bankruptcy two and a half years ago, management made a couple of key decisions that lead to its current success. The most interesting, if not the most important, was to hold a staff meeting every Monday morning.
At the meetings, employees learn to the very nickel how much money the company spent the previous week and how much it took in. Each department reports on its previous week's performance.
“For example, our...
Wheelchair coverage criteria
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - A government report advising CMS to throw out its bed-or-chair confined coverage criteria for power wheelchairs is a great first step but still needs work, say industry leaders.
Dr. Sean Tunis, CMS's chief medical officer, agrees.
“There are lots of people out there who will be looking at this and identifying things we didn't think of or aspects of the document that aren't clear,” said Tunis. “I think from that we'll be able to craft something that is neither too...
ASP pricing raises Xopenex profile
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Medicare may find an unexpected increase in its respiratory medication bill now that the cost-cutting average sales price reimbursement formula has taken effect. Industry insiders expect to see a jump in sales for the more costly drugs, Xopenex and DuoNeb, based on their higher-than-expected reimbursements.
DuoNeb will see a $1.30 per dose reimbursement. Xopenex will be reimbursed at $3.20 per dose for the .125 mg strength; $1.60 per dose for the .63 mg strength; and 80 cents per dose...
Jaysec pockets e-CMN on hand-held PC
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
ATHENS, Tenn. - Imagine if referring physicians could complete oxygen CMNs at the same time they order an HME provider to deliver a concentrator. Pretty dreamy stuff. At Jaysec Technologies, they're trying to fit that dream into the pocket PC they've been selling into the marketplace for several months.
Like Power Ox, which came to market with letters from CMS that supported its oximetry testing business model, Jaysec is also seeking approbation from federal agencies.
“Everyone is always...
Medicare tells beneficiary to get a life
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Medicare pays for a lot of medical equipment, but if you think the entitlement program will pony up for an air conditioner, think again.
A woman recently submitted the following scenario to James T. Mulder, who writes the Healthcare Notebook column for the Syracuse Post-Standard:
My husband has a difficult time breathing in hot, humid weather. His doctor told him to get air conditioning in his home and wrote a prescription for it. My husband took the prescription to the Medicare...
The HME industry’s 10 most influential people
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
Listed on the right, in no particular order, are the 10 people whose decisions and actions most influence your business - apart, of course, from your own managerial influence. This was no easy list to compile. We conducted dozens of interviews to make our selections. Ultimately, responsibility for these selections belongs to us. You may argue the relative rank of these individuals, but there's no denying that the HME supplier operates in an industry that's remarkably influenced by politics, and by...
Region D pushes electronic funds transfer
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Providers love filing Medicare claims electronically. It's much faster than snail mail and improves cash flow. But ask them to allow CMS to deposit claim payments directly into their accounts via electronic fund transfer (ETF)and its a whole different story.
In Region D, for example, 87% of claims are filed electronically, compared to only 36% for all payments.
The problem: Providers fear that if Medicare deposits money into their accounts, it can also remove it. That's a misconception...
Oxygen cut still up in the air
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
BALTIMORE - Buoyed by CMS's decision to delay announcement of Medicare oxygen cuts until the OIG reviews new data, a critical mass of Wall Street analysts predicted a lower-than-expected reimbursement cut for oxygen.
“We believe this [delay] is likely to result in a 2005 Medicare oxygen cut closer to 5% than 10%,” two Legg Mason analsyts, Jerry L. Doctorow and Eric T. Gommel, wrote in a report published Dec. 17. On the same day, Wachovia upgraded its assessment of Lincare's financial...
National bulks up in New England
January 31, 2005HME News Staff
JOHNSTON, R.I. - Lincare closed a deal Dec. 29 to acquire Respiratory Solutions, a three location HME that does business in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Lincare confirmed the deal but declined further comment. Respiratory Solutions CEO Bernie Lambrese did not return a phone call. Lambrese, and three other founders launched Respiratory Solutions in July 2001 by contributing $300,000 of their own money. The trio also secured roughly $1.7 million in loans and investments to help grow the company....