Archive: May 2007
AAH Supplies Council: Simplify ostomy billing
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - AAHomecare's Medical Supplies Council met at Medtrade Spring April 26 to organize its priorities for 2007. Topping its list: removing ostomy supplies from the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS), said Karen Kaczmarek, chairwoman of the council.
When a patient enters a Part A care facility, payment for ostomy supplies has to be billed as part of a flat rate for that episode of care, said Kaczmarek. Unfortunately, it is often difficult for a DME to verify that a patient is...
Invacare and VGM join forces
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
LAS VEGAS - The on-again off-again relationship that's marked VGM and Invacare over the years is on again, and this time in a very big way.
The two industry titans--the largest HME manufacturer (Invacare) and largest provider service organization (VGM)--joined forces in late April to help providers and themselves maneuver through national competitive bidding.
The companies announced the new relationship April 25 at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas.
"We are in a fight for our lives, and we intend to fight...
Collection company moves to new digs
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
AKRON, Ohio - Business has been good for Bargmann Management LLC and Homecare Collection Service (HCS) over the past few years. As a result, the company, which specializes in patient collections, is relocating to a new 9,000-square-foot call center facility here. The company planned to move over the weekend of May 4 and reopen May 7. HCS classifies itself as an extension of the provider's collections department. Unpaid patient debts represent an estimated 7% to 10% of a provider's accounts receivable,...
Firm's interest intensifies
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - Dallas-based Highland Capital Management and a partner became American HomePatient's largest shareholder in early April, fueling talk that big changes are in store for the struggling national provider.
The Bermuda-based Highland Crusader Offshore Partners now owns 48% of AHP's stock, according to an April 9 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. Crusader owns the stock (it bought about 8.4 million shares for $24.2 million), but Highland, as Crusader's investment advisor,...
At RESNA, 'phone lines are jammed'
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
ARLINGTON, Va. - RESNA expects to have an above average turnout for its annual conference this month, thanks in part to a Medicare requirement that pushed its ATS and ATP credentials to the forefront.
"For the exams we hold at the conference--we've already reached the level of past years and we're still a month away from the deadline for applications," said Executive Director Tom Gorski in mid-April. "We definitely expect it to be larger than in the past."
Beginning April 1, 2008, CMS will require...
Carve out: Industry courts consumers
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Industry stakeholders know they need the help of consumers to carve out complex rehab from national competitive bidding, but that could be easier said than done.
"It's our biggest barrier," said Don Clayback, who heads up The MED Group's National Rehab Network. "We need to deliver a message that holds some personal consequences for (disability organizations and consumers), so they don't think it's just an industry or business issue."
Therein lies the rub, according to industry stakeholders....
Diabetes industry not resting easy
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - With the ink barely dry on CMS's final rule for competitive bidding, diabetes stakeholders say they won't rest until CMS permanently excludes diabetes testing supplies.
"We will continue to demonstrate to them the value of community pharmacy in providing access and continue to make our point," said Bill Popomaronis, vice president of long term and home health care pharmacy for the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA).
Industry leaders also look ahead to 2010, when CMS could...
Sales
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
Q. How can we increase patient referrals from home health nursing agencies?
A. Home health agencies can be an extremely lucrative market for an HME company. For a patient to qualify for insurance coverage for nursing services, he must be home or bed confined due to his condition. Many of these patients also need HME, and the referral usually comes directly from the patient's HHA.
Most home health agencies expect the following services from their HME companies:
* Easy and quick patient referral system.
* Timely...
Big cylinder, little cylinder
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - About three years ago, officials at Responsive Respiratory saw the writing on the wall. If they didn't do something fast, products like Invacare's HomeFill and Sunrise Medical's iFill--devices that reduce provider deliveries by allowing respiratory patients to fill portable tanks in their home--would slash demand for Responsive Respiratory's bread and butter: regulators and high-pressure cylinders.
"We knew that was a threat," said Tom Bannon, company president. "We realized that...
NPI deadline draws near
May 31, 2007HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Medicare hasn't decided when it will begin rejecting claims without a primary National Provider Identification (NPI) number, but officials at a May 10 roundtable warned it could be July 1. That goes for electronic, paper, direct data system and CMS free billing software claims.
Medicare will also begin rejecting CMS form 1500-1290 on or after July 1. The form allows reporting of NPI and legacy identifiers together. Additionally, CMS officials reminded callers that if they do not have...