Archive: July 2011
A clue about consolidation?
July 29, 2011Liz Beaulieu, Editor
Each year, we publish a State of the Industry Report full of data that gives you a snapshot of the industry from year to year.
(Go here to download last year's report.)
Well, the data for this year's report is starting to trickle in, and just today I received data from CMS on the number of DMEPOS suppliers that bill Medicare in these five categories: less than $300,000 per year; $300,000 to $1 million; $1 million to $3 million; $3 million to $10 million; and more than $10 million.
The number of providers...
Providers need to rip 'complexities out of their businesses'
July 28, 2011Liz Beaulieu, Editor
ELYRIA, Ohio - HME manufacturers and providers alike need to be strategic, not tactical, thinkers if they want to survive the next few years, says Invacare's Carl Will.
Will, senior vice president, global commercial operations, offered up this example at Invacare Media Day last week to point out the difference: If I'm a provider, when I'm thinking tactically, the question is, how can I squeeze more out of an oxygen concentrator; when I'm thinking strategically, it's, why am I delivering at all?
"Survival...
Net sales are up 8.3% at Invacare
July 28, 2011HME News Staff
ELYRIA, Ohio - Invacare put smiles on the faces of its investors last week.
Invacare has reported net earnings of $10.7 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011, compared to a net loss of $600,000 for the same period last year. Earnings were positively impacted by a tax settlement in Germany that allowed the manufacturer to pocket about $5.1 million. Adjusted net earnings were $14.7 million vs. $12.7 million
Net sales were $466.4 million for the second quarter this year compared to $430.8...
AAHomecare: Create quality standards for negative pressure
July 28, 2011Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - If CMS includes negative pressure wound therapy in future rounds of competitive bidding, the agency must create additional quality standards for the product category, AAHomecare told lawmakers last week.
Standards would help to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries receive quality care and treatment, says Carol Laumer, who served on an AAHomecare task force that has developed guidelines for providing NPWT.
"It does take something extra," said Laumer, executive director of Willmar, Minn.-based...
Providers need to rip complexities out of their businesses
July 28, 2011Liz Beaulieu, Editor
ELYRIA, Ohio - HME manufacturers and providers alike need to be strategic, not tactical, thinkers if they want to survive the next few years, says Invacare's Carl Will.
Will, senior vice president, global commercial operations, offered up this example at Invacare Media Day last week to point out the difference: If I'm a provider, when I'm thinking tactically, the question is, how can I squeeze more out of an oxygen concentrator; when I'm thinking strategically, it's, why am I delivering at all?
"Survival...
In brief: Officials testify on improper claims, MedPAC releases spending report
July 28, 2011HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The HME industry did not escape scrutiny when a House Subcommittee held a hearing last week on improper Medicare payments. Officials from the Office of Inspector General, CMS and the Government Accountability Office gave testimony on what contributed to the government paying out $47.9 billion in improper payments in 2010. "Some but not all improper payments are the result of fraud," Daniel R. Levinson, OIG's Inspector General told the subcommittee, in prepared remarks. Government officials...
Debt talks dampen efforts
July 28, 2011Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON With lawmakers consumed by the looming debt-ceiling crisis, there wasn't a lot of movement last week on HME issues, including repealing competitive bidding.
"It's like somebody threw a wet blanket on everybody here," said Walt Gorski, vice president of government affairs for AAHomecare. "Nothing is happening other than debt ceiling talks."
At press time, both House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., were still trying to advance their respective...
Stakeholders ramp up advocacy for standing wheelchairs
July 28, 2011Elizabeth Deprey
LEBANON, Tenn. - Determined industry stakeholders continue to work to convince Medicare that standing equipment is medically necessary for some patients.
Stakeholders have long argued that standers and standing wheelchairs have medical benefits for patients. Currently, however, Medicare denies payment for the equipment, saying it's not medically necessary.
"It's not reasonable to say, across the board, that it's not medically necessary," said Jennifer Finger, in-house counsel for Permobil, a Lebanon,...
Retail seen as key to boosting scooter sales
July 26, 2011John Andrews
Scooters fall into a category of their own within the mobility segment--a lifestyle product with a clinical purpose that is available through both insurance and retail channels. Yet while demand has progressively grown in recent years, coverage and funding have slipped, presenting scooter dealers with a dilemma about which sales channel deserves the most focus.
Mobility vendors concede that insurers--both public and private--are increasingly reluctant to cover scooters for beneficiaries and that...
Brightree does right by providers
July 26, 2011Liz Beaulieu, Editor
ATLANTA - Close to 200 of Pacware's 750 customers have committed to or are already in the process of converting to Brightree, company officials said in June.
"The acquisition's going well," said Brightree CEO Dave Cormack.
Brightree acquired Pacware earlier this year. It continues to support Pacware's client-server product, but it's also giving the company's customers the opportunity to convert to its web-based platform.
While software conversions make most providers cringe, Pacware's leader,...