Archive: January 2014
Deal 'heightens awareness' of patient-pay potential
January 31, 2014Liz Beaulieu, Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine - What does Brightree's acquisition of Strategic AR mean for other patient-pay companies in the HME industry?Patientco and A/R Allegiance also stand to benefit from the deal, they say.“On a macro level, it's validation that what we're doing is valuable and necessary,” said Kurt Lovell, COO of Patientco. “Nothing proves that better than when the mother ship of software vendors buys you or one of your competitors.”Partnerships or agreements among software...
Elmora Pharmacy gets in the game
January 31, 2014Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
ELIZABETH, N.J. — He may not be playing, but in the lead up to Super Bowl 2014, Ben Hertz touted his HME offerings using the Twitter hashtag #SuperBowl.The tweet: If you're in town for the #SuperBowl and need medical equipment of supplies, call us! We can deliver to you!“I am pretty involved in social media, so I put out things no matter how far fetched they might be,” said Hertz, store manager of Elmora Pharmacy. “If I get a call for a wheelchair rental or a knee scooter...
In brief: GAO rejects protest, Hoveround lays off 20
January 31, 2014HME News Staff
NEW YORK - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied Rotech's protest that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) unreasonably ignored recent, relevant information when it decided Rotech wasn't financially fit to win contracts to supply veterans with home oxygen equipment, Law360 reports. The VA contended that Rotech, which entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, didn't qualify as a “responsible contractor,” according to the story. The VA's contracting...
Wait no more: Ban on diabetes deliveries is shortsighted
January 31, 2014Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - With bills in the House of Representatives and now the Senate, the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) hopes to finally see some action allowing community pharmacies to deliver diabetes testing supplies.“Before the ban on deliveries took effect, many lawmakers wanted to wait and see (what the impact would be),” said Kevin Schweers, senior vice president of government affairs for the association.The Diabetic Testing Supply Access Act, S. 1935, was introduced...
New device alleviates COPD symptoms
January 31, 2014HME News Staff
LONDON - Researchers at London's Western University have tested the Aerobika Oscillating Positive Expiratory Pressure Therapy System and say it improves COPD therapy, reducing breathlessness in patients, product developers say. The device helped study participants more easily move mucus out of their lungs, according to developer Trudell Medical International. “Drug treatment is often the preferred method, but may not be completely effective in achieving adequate airway clearance,”...
High denial rate for power wheelchairs
January 31, 2014HME News Staff
INDIANAPOLIS - National Government Services denied 79.8% of power wheelchair claims between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31 because paperwork failed to demonstrate beneficiaries' needs, according to a recent bulletin. The Jurisdiction B DME MAC reviewed 613 claims in a prepayment review of all group 2 power wheelchairs without the option of adding power seating. NGS found most were denied because face-to-face documentation failed to prove: a manual wheelchair was insufficient; that the beneficiary's mobility...
Pennsylvania pharmacy adds medical equipment
January 31, 2014HME News Staff
HONESDALE, Pa. -Wayne Health Pharmacy and Medical Equipment is hosting an official opening Feb. 14, offering health presentations, foot screenings and information on breathing devices. The retail store, in a newly renovated space, combines a pharmacy with an existing medical equipment business offering a full line of home medical supplies, including home oxygen services, braces, CPAP equipment, lifts and wheelchairs, according to The Wayne Independent. Prizes to be raffled off during the grand opening...
Don't be left out in the cold
January 31, 2014Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
It's official. The winter doldrums have set in. The anticipation of the holidays has been replaced by blackened snow and brown and tattered wreaths hanging neglected.
I can't get out of my own way to do much of anything. Did I pack my motivation away with the Christmas decorations?
I can't help but worry that a similar fatigue has set in for HME providers. That's because the deadline to register for the Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals forum got extended (it ends today)....
Pictures don't lie, says PFQC
January 31, 2014Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WATERLOO, Iowa - Competitive bidding will always be a main focus, but People for Quality Care (PFQC) has turned its attention to the equally destructive audits in 2014.
“We're not leaving competitive bidding behind, but there are other issues that we need to bring awareness to,” said Kelly Turner, director of the PFQC, the advocacy arm of The VGM Group. “We are committed to making sure that beneficiaries understand the position that providers are being put in and what it...
CMS didn't think through capped rental change, providers say
January 31, 2014Elizabeth Deprey
WASHINGTON - The day-to-day reality of providing certain complex rehab equipment as capped rental items is unrealistic, providers say.“CMS is asking DME companies to provide complex rehab and finance Medicare over 13 months, when we have to pay the vendors back in 60 days,” said Patrick Mahncke, president of Denver, Colo.-based USA Mobility. “From a business standpoint, it's very difficult to do that.”On April 1, CMS plans to make 78 codes capped rental items, including manual...