Archive: November 2005
Web-based billing creates safety net
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
ATLANTA - Considering all the major casualties that occur during a natural disaster, lost data doesn't seem important. But to independent HME providers, billing data is the lifeblood of the operation--without it, they're out of commission.
That's why proponents of Web-based billing systems are pointing to Hurricane Katrina as the perfect example of why having an off-site server is a vital link to business survival. Even if all physical components of a business are destroyed, the Web-based system...
ResMed revs up CPAP
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
SAN DIEGO - ResMed, two years after Respironics rocked the CPAP world with the debut of its wildly popular C-Flex device, has finally answered the challenge with a similar form of therapy, called EPR.
The new therapy is available on the Elite and Vantage flow generators, two of the four next generation S8 CPAP models that ResMed debuted at Medtrade. In general, the company's new line is smaller, lighter and consumer-driven, heralding an era of commoditization when CPAPs may actually come equipped...
Could a pill replace CPAP for OSA?
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
CHICAGO - Two researchers are exploring the possibility that drugs may be the future of sleep apnea treatment. UCLA neuroscientist Jerome Siegel and David Carley, a neuroscientist at the University of Illinois, Chicago, treated patients with the antidepressant mirtazapine. On average, patients using the drug had a 50% decrease in the number of times they stopped breathing at night. Currently approved only for treating depression, the drug works by manipulating serotonin, a chemical in the brain that...
Consultant: Harness technology to boost efficiency, profits
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
ATLANTA - Providers should steal a page from manufacturers when it comes to driving out cost from their business operations, according to Wallace Weeks.
Manufacturers have been able to cut the price of oxygen concentrators, for example, from $900 to $500 since 1997, despite an inflation rate of 3%, pointed out Weeks, president of the Weeks Group in Melbourne, Fla. How? Technology.
Providers who harness technology like GPS systems can drive down labor costs, their second largest expense, and add up...
SeQual hopes to Eclipse competition
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
SAN DIEGO - SeQual Technologies believes it has developed the most versatile oxygen system yet with its new Eclipse concentrator, a 17-pound unit that provides both pulse and continuous flow at rates of up to 3 liters per minute.
The company unveiled a prototype at Medtrade and plans to make the system available to providers in the first quarter of 2006 after it conducts a beta test involving 500 patients.
The race in the respiratory manufacturing field has been to develop an all-purpose oxygen...
OIG study to investigate 'alternative' O2 payment
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - On top of everything else providers are struggling with--a huge cut to the dispensing fee for neb meds, competitive bidding and a major overhaul of rehab reimbursement--the OIG now plans to conduct a study in 2006 that examines, among other things, the feasibility of capping reimbursement for oxygen concentrators.
"I think that could be the last straw for people who are already having problems with the cuts that have occurred this year in oxygen reimbursement," said industry consultant...
Trulife renames subsidiaries
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
DUBLIN, Ireland - Trulife is in the process of transitioning its two O&P subsidiaries--CAMP and Seattle Systems--to its own name, David Adams, executive vice president of marketing, said recently. "It reduces confusion," said Adams. Trulife acquired CAMP some time ago, but it purchased the Poulsbo, Wash.-based Seattle Systems in July.
Apria takes down for sale sign
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Apria Healthcare took itself off the market Oct. 25, the same day it reported disappointing financial results for the third quarter. It also announced plans to repurchase up to $250 million worth of outstanding stock--a sure sign that the provider has closed the door on all offers, according to industry sources.
Apria's board of directors has decided to focus 100% on growing revenues and improving operations, instead of entertaining potential offers, according to a statement.
"The...
Senator comes to industry's defense
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators in late October flexed their muscles in what some believe to be a better-late-than-never attempt to delay Medicare's plan to replace the CMN for power wheelchairs with a doctor's prescription.
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., introduced an amendment just days after the plan's Oct. 25 implementation date that would require CMS to re-issue a plan by Jan. 1, 2006. It would then require the agency to hold 45-day comment and transition periods, and implement the rule no sooner than...
Has bottom fallen out of neb-med business?
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
The fee cut for dispensing respiratory medications to Medicare beneficiaries is so deep that it seems impossible for providers to continue the business without losing money.
Still, that doesn't necessarily mean a mass exodus from the marketplace, say industry pundits.
On the surface, it appears that CMS's decision to drive down monthly reimbursement from an already substandard $57 to $33 will cause respiratory providers to finally pull the plug on a business that was tenuous at best. Yet, if history...