Archive: November 2005
CMS goes live with one-stop PWC site
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - CMS developed a Web site in mid-October that serves as a one-stop shop for information on power mobility device coverage and documentation. The new Web site, www.cms.hhs.gov/coverage/wheelchairs.asp, went live shortly after CMS announced it would delay implementing 65 new power wheelchair and scooter codes, as well as a local coverage determination, both of which were due to go into effect Jan. 1, 2006. Documents posted to the Web site include the national coverage determination and...
Apria pares down back-end services
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
LAKE FOREST, Calif. - Apria Healthcare will close its Sacramento billing office and lay off 75 people in January. In the same month, it will open a 100,000-square-foot Woodland distribution center that will employ 75. Both moves are part of the provider's strategy to reduce the number of billing and distribution facilities nationwide to save money in the face of reimbursement cuts, according to the Sacramento Business Journal. While it wants to keep services like in-home visits as close as possible...
U.S. Rehab: TV spots emphasize credentials
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa - U.S. Rehab members now have the opportunity, through a new service, to place television and newspaper ads that will go head-to-head with commercials that entice consumers to buy wheelchairs and scooters over the phone or online.
The ads will promote local rehab providers that employ staff who are registered with the National Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers or certified by the Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America. (NRRTS or RESNA...
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...
EOMBs: Stay on top of it...it's your money
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
Q. I just received some EOMBs following a favorable ALJ ruling on a number of claims that our DMERC initially denied to pay. There was, however, no notation that the claims were crossed over, and I know these were Medicaid patients. What gives?
A. They probably did not get forwarded to the appropriate Medicaid state for you. Under the Coordination of Benefits Agreement (COBA), carriers and DMERCs are required to cross claims over to any approved Medicare supplemental insurance company, including...
HMEs: 'not making profits that amount to anything'
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
I am so tired of fighting Medicare. All I want to do is take care of patients and be allowed to make a profit. Nothing exorbitant, just a living. No one in this industry is overpaid, especially when compared to other industries with like positions. I do not understand why CMS will not leave us alone. They should go clean up the fraud. The savings would be huge--not only in DME but for all Medicare provider groups.
The short story is that medical equipment companies, both dealers and manufacturers--with...
Grogan's M&A strategy
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Grogan's Healthcare Supply has acquired VDK Turning Point, a women's health boutique specializing in mastectomy, maternity and related services. With the move, the 45-year-old company brings a niche back into the fold.
"We had been in the mastectomy business for years and when they opened seven years ago, the appeal of their philosophy made a lot of good sense but it wasn't something we were able to duplicate," said Alan Grogan, president. "Over a period of seven years, they ended...
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...
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...
Permobil sheds mom-and-pop status
November 30, 2005HME News Staff
LEBANON, Tenn. - With new owners and increased financial resources, high-end wheelchair manufacturer Permobil now intends to speed up product development and increase its presence in the mid-level market.
"We want to take care of more consumers, and not just in this high-end market," said President Larry Jackson. "We never want to lose that, but we think there is a whole other group of people down there looking for what we call the 'Permobil experience': Not only making a good product but being able...