Archive: May 2008
A lowdown story, bidding capacity, shocking news
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
REDMOND, Wash.--Competitive bidding may look like a nightmare to many established providers, but that's not the case for start-ups, said industry consultant Roberta Domos. “My business is booming for start-ups, all over the country,” she said recently. “We just did one in El Paso. I'm going to Indianapolis tomorrow for one. We have a new one coming up in Florida and one in Utah.” On average, Domos estimated, she works with three start-ups a month. The entrepreneurs have a...
Report: Obesity worsens asthma
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand--Obesity can worsen the impact of asthma and mask its severity, according to researchers in New Zealand. The researchers studied lung function in asthmatic women with a range of body mass indexes and reported their findings in the May issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, published by the American Thoracic Society. The researchers established a direct link between obesity and the development of a phenomenon known as “dynamic hyperinflation,”...
Gov’t affairs
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
Q. Can a provider complete any part of the written order for a power wheelchair?
A. The short answer is ‘No.' Having said that, there are a few items that bear mentioning. Medicare's PMD policy requires a written order that contains seven distinct elements:
- Beneficiary's name.
- Description of the item that is ordered. This may be general--for example: “power operated vehicle” or “power mobility device”--or may be more specific.
- Date of the face-to-face examination.
-...
Singing the oxygen cap blues
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
WASHINGTON--With only six months until the clock stops ticking on the 36-month oxygen cap, providers still have no clue how much they'll be reimbursed for ongoing service and maintenance. That's made planning problematic, to say the least.
“I'm trying to look at my expenses vs. reimbursement to figure out if I can continue servicing these patients, but I don't know what the reimbursement's going to be, so I can't,” said Mark Ehlers, owner of Ehlers Health Supply in Stockton, Calif....
Bidding in Riverside: ‘It’s dirty’
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
RIVERSIDE, Calif.--Officials at Pride Mobility Products and several legislators have demanded that the Department of Health and Human Services begin an immediate investigation into suspicious bids and relationships in the Riverside, Calif., competitive bidding area (CBA).
In a May 1 letter, Pride Chairman and CEO Scott Meuser notified Secretary Michael Leavitt that “18 of the winning standard power wheelchair category bidders had all of the following in common: price, manufacturer and consultant.”...
Round 2 bids: ˜We don't want the winner's curse'
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
Will the pricing for Round 1 of national competitive bidding influence bid amounts for Round 2? Hopefully, not much, say providers located in the Round 2 competitive bidding areas (CBAs).
“Bidding in Round 1 was crazy and irresponsible, and bidding in Round 2 needs to be realistic and responsible, even if it means losing a bid,” said Todd Tyson, president of Hi Tech Homecare in Marietta, Ga., one of the 70 Round 2 CBAs. “We don't want the winner's curse.”
Like most...
Lawmakers say no to tax relief
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
OLYMPIA, Wash.--Despite broad support, providers in March again failed to convince state legislators to pass a bill that would make DME exempt from an 8.9% sales tax.
Providers have been trying to pass the bill for eight years now.
“It's getting comical,” said Wendall Matas, immediate past president of the Pacific Association for Medical Equipment Services (PAMES).
Providers pulled out all the stops this year, they say. They made more than 100 legislative visits to drum up support...
Bill gains Senate support
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
WASHINGTON--Three senators introduced a bipartisan bill April 29 that would carve out complex rehab and assistive technology from national competitive bidding, paving the way, industry sources hope, for it to be attached to a Medicare bill now in the works.
“There might be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” said Jim Greatorex, president of Black Bear Medical in Portland, Maine, who lobbied Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, to sponsor the bill at AAHomecare's congressional fly-in in...
Investigators plan to turn up heat in Texas
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
DALLAS, Texas--It could get hotter than usual in Texas this summer when the Medicare Fraud Strike Force cranks up the heat. Providers, however, are taking the news in stride
“I say bring it on,” said Sandy Cormier, owner of San Antonio-based Rehab in Motion.
The Strike Force is a collaborative effort between CMS, the Department of Justice, the FBI and local law enforcement agencies. Investigators analyze real-time billing data to identify unusual billing patterns.
Texas is the third...
New show--with familiar faces--takes on Medtrade
May 31, 2008HME News Staff
ATLANTA--All of a sudden Medtrade has some competition. In mid-April, three former Medtrade show directors--Cory Smith, Art Ellis and Kevin Bird--teamed up with their old co-worker Grayson Lutz to help form Access Business Media. With private equity backing, the group plans to debut the HME Exposition & Conference April 21-23, 2009, at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore. Access will market the show under the slogan: “This is your event!” HME News, which is co-sponsoring the...