Article
WFH sticks – for now
March 21, 2025Liz Beaulieu, Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine – Five years on from the COVID-19 pandemic and despite a broad return-to-office movement, work from home is a policy that still holds up for most respondents to a recent HME Newspoll.
Eighty-one percent of respondents reported they have employees who work from home and nearly 70% say they’re not reconsidering their policy.
“WFH was a virtually seamless transition during COVID,” wrote Erin Dolan of Med-Essentials in New Hartford, Conn. “My...
DME providers can help physicians manage diabetes population, study finds
March 21, 2025Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
DALLAS – The No. 1 reason physicians cite for not prescribing a continuous glucose monitor is its complexity, a roadblock that DME providers can help clear, according to a new study from CCS.
That complexity, along with a surge in the number of diabetes patients, leaves primary care physicians and endocrinologists feeling overwhelmed and not able to keep up-to-date on technology, and, ultimately, struggling to offer enough health coaching and education to their patients. That creates...
Dr. Watson: It pays to help patients take that final step
March 21, 2025Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
MADISON, Wis. – When patients receive an obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis but don’t initiate successful PAP therapy, that creates an opportunity cost across the health care continuum, says Nathaniel Watson, MD, chief medical officer at EnsoData.
“Once somebody's gotten all the way to that point, it's actually really important to get them to be adherent to their treatment,” he said. “To lose out on that last little step is problematic because of all...
Mobility City’s Craig Kreakie: From finance to franchise lead
March 21, 2025Tracy Orzel
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Craig Kreakie, Mobility’s City’s new vice president of franchise operations, was looking to buy a franchise, not secure an executive position, but the company’s leadership and support drew him in.
Now he’s keyed in to improving the efficiency of franchises on a broad scale, so they can do what they do best – help people.
HME News: What do you bring to the table at Mobility City?
Craig Kreakie: I started my career as...
In brief: AAH asks for exemption, CPAP therapy saves lives, Cigna closes MA sale
March 21, 2025HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – AAHomecare has asked the Trump Administration to exclude home medical equipment and supplies from current and proposed tariffs.
The administration in early March delayed proposed 25% tariff increases on products covered under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April. These potential new tariffs would join 20% tariffs on products from China that are already in effect.
Over the last two months, AAHomecare has engaged Capitol Hill on the need to exempt...
AAHomecare urges tariff exemptions
March 20, 2025HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – AAHomecare has asked the Trump Administration to exclude home medical equipment and supplies from current and proposed tariffs.
The administration in early March delayed proposed 25% tariff increases on products covered under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) until April. These potential new tariffs would join 20% tariffs on products from China that are already in effect.
Over the last two months, AAHomecare has engaged Capitol Hill...
OIG: MACs miss mark on cost reports
March 20, 2025HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – Medicare Administrative Contractors did not consistently meet Medicare cost report oversight requirements, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General.
For federal fiscal years 2019–2021, each of the 12 MAC jurisdictions failed to comply with the contract requirements for audit and reimbursement desk review and audit quality (AR-4) for at least one of the three years.
CMS identified 287 total audit issues among all MAC jurisdictions during...
Cigna closes on sale of MA business
March 20, 2025HME News Staff
BLOOMFIELD, Conn. – The Cigna Group has completed the sale of its Medicare Advantage, Cigna Supplemental Benefits, Medicare Part D, and CareAllies businesses to Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC). The divestment of these assets streamlines The Cigna Group's portfolio and enables it to drive further innovation to support customers, it says. "We are proud of the positive impact we have made in people's lives and the unique value provided through our Medicare businesses and are...
Forcura, Medalogix join forces
March 20, 2025HME News Staff
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., and NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Forcura, a workflow management company, and Medalogix, a clinical decision support company, have merged, creating what they say is a leading post-acute care technology platform focused on the advancement of intelligent patient care within home-based care providers and, ultimately, across the entire health care continuum. The combination of Forcura and Medalogix will allow providers to leverage one platform to streamline patient care transitions, simplify...
Dr. Oz would seek to modernize MA
March 19, 2025Liz Beaulieu, Editor
WASHINGTON – While he’s on record as a big supporter of Medicare Advantage, Dr. Mehmet Oz told the Senate Finance Committee during a confirmation hearing on Friday that, if confirmed as CMS administrator, he would reform prior authorizations, which he called “a pox on the system.”
Oz told the committee that he would push for reducing the some 15,000 procedures and medications that require prior auths to 1,000. He also said he would push for speeding up approvals.
“If...