Archive: November 2017
Diabetes supplier dropped from lawsuit
November 30, 2017HME News Staff
INDIANAPOLIS - J&B Medical Supply has been dismissed from a lawsuit alleging it had sold blood glucose test strips under the retail pharmacy benefit rather than the DME benefit.All charges were dismissed without prejudice and without costs, according to a court filing.The lawsuit, filed earlier this year by Roche Diagnostics and Roche Diabetes Care, claimed that they wrongfully paid millions of dollars in rebates in lost millions of dollars in legitimate sales to an alleged scheme by several pharmacies...
AOPA says O&P must remain essential health benefit
November 30, 2017HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association has submitted comments on a proposal to provide individual states with increased flexibility to define essential health benefits. In its comments on the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; HHS Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters for 2019”, AOPA reiterated its position that orthoses and prostheses must remain essential health benefits and that any action by CMS to restrict or reduce access to O&P services is not...
Huggenberger, Whitfield tapped by Sommetrics
November 30, 2017HME News Staff
SAN DIEGO - Sommetrics, a maker of products focused on improving sleep quality, has named Raymond Huggenberger, former Inogen CEO to its board of directors, it announced today. Huggeberger has more than 20 years of experience in the healthcare industry. Prior to joining Inogen, he held leadership roles at Sunrise Medical. Sommetrics has also named Randall Whitfield to its advisory board. Whitfield has 15 years of experience in the respiratory field, including leading various business groups at Philips...
HHS details status of appeals backlog
November 29, 2017HME News Staff
FALLS CHURCH, Va. - The Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals receives more than a year's worth of appeals work every 24 weeks at the third level of appeals, according to a recent PDF posted to the agency's website.
As of the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016, the pending workload at the administrative law judge level exceeded 650,000 appeals, while annual adjudication capacity going forward was about 92,000 appeals, according to the “HHS Primer: The Medicare Appeals...
Blue Mint Pharmacy hunts for HME
November 29, 2017HME News Staff
HOUSTON - Blue Mint Pharmacy, a four-year-old online pharmacy, has added home medical equipment to its services to grow its customer base, it announced Nov. 29. It will not carry an inventory of HME but act as a “personal bargain hunter,” taking inquiries for specific equipment and searching across the country for the lowest available price. The company already uses this strategy for pet medications. “There is a need for affordable home medical equipment,” said CEO TJ Blackwell....
Year in review: The next front materializes, and the impact piles up
November 29, 2017HME News Staff
Here's a look at the most read stories for 2017. I know there are still 32 days left in 2017 (who's counting), but I couldn't help myself (and I needed a blog topic).
The No. 1 most read story surprises me—and it doesn't. It surprises me because it's not competitive bidding related. On the face, it's even what we call a “state story,” meaning it doesn't even apply to every provider everywhere. But it doesn't surprise me, because it's representative of the increasing influence of...
Bid relief bill adds co-sponsors
November 29, 2017HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - A bill that would provide relief from the competitive bidding program now has 76 co-sponsors, AAHomecare and VGM Group report. H.R. 4229, introduced Nov. 2 by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., with 53 original co-sponsors, would extend a retroactive delay of a second round of reimbursement cuts in non-bid areas from Jan. 1, 2017, to Jan. 1, 2019. It would also address a “double dip” cut to oxygen therapy. The newest co-sponsors are Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., Mike Coffman,...
CMS starts implementation process for Cures provision
November 28, 2017HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - CMS wants state Medicaid programs to submit their DME fee schedules using a new spreadsheet to make sure they're not paying too much for equipment, according to a notice in the Federal Register.
CMS says the spreadsheet will help the agency comply with a provision in the 21st Century Cures Act that requires it to cap Medicaid reimbursement for DME at Medicare reimbursement starting Jan. 1, 2018.
“We would require the minimal amount of information be collected from states...
BioScrip bolsters management team
November 28, 2017HME News Staff
DENVER - BioScrip has added two new execs to its management team: Harriet Booker as senior vice president and COO, and Danny Claycomb as senior vice president of revenue cycle management. Most recently, Booker was interim senior vice president of revenue cycle management for Option Care. She has also worked at Coram/CVS Specialty Infusion Services, Coram Specialty Infusion and Apria Healthcare. Most recently, Claycomb was senior vice president of revenue cycle management at Envision Healthcare. He...
Vertess adds DME exec
November 28, 2017HME News Staff
TUCSON, Ariz. - Vertess, a healthcare M&A advisory firm, has added DME executive Eric Hymes as managing director. Hymes' past experience includes a stint as general manager and senior executive with medical supplies provider CCS Medical, where he had responsibility for more than $100 million in P&L. “While my career in healthcare has always been focused on the end user and their families, the apex of my experience was successfully navigating an ever-shifting landscape of healthcare insurance...