In brief: CMS opens bid portal, Invacare offers senior notes

WASHINGTON - In a sign that contract offers might be on their way, HME providers who submitted bids as part of the Round 2 and the national mail-order re-compete may now register for Connexion.

Contract offers and other correspondence for the Round 2 and national mail-order re-compete will be communicated only through Connexion, a new secure, online portal, according to an update posted to the CBIC website Feb. 17.

“These items will not be mailed,” the agency stated.

To respond to offers and receive correspondence, authorized officials (AOs) and backup authorized officials (BAOs) must be registered in the Enterprise Identity Management system (EIDM) and add Connexion to their access.

CMS plans to announce the single payment amounts for the Round 2 and national mail order re-compete, and begin the contracting process this winter. It plans to announce contract suppliers this spring.

CMS plans to implement new pricing and contracts on July 1.

Invacare offers $130M in senior notes

ELYRIA, Ohio - Invacare announced last week that it's offering $130 million aggregate principal amount of 5% convertible senior notes due 2021 in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers.

In connection with the offering, the company has granted the initial purchasers an option to purchase up to an additional $20 million aggregate principal amount of notes.

The conversion rate for the offering will be 60.0492 common shares per $1,000 principal amount of notes, equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $16.65 per common share. This represents a premium of about 30% to the $12.81 per share closing price on Feb. 17.

The sale of notes is expected to close Feb. 23.

Also in connection with the offering, Invacare entered into privately negotiated convertible note hedge transactions with JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, London Branch and one or more other financial institutions. These transactions will cover the number of the company's common shares that will initially underlie the notes and are expected to reduce the potential equity dilution and/or offset any cash payments in excess of the principal amount due upon conversion of the notes.

Invacare estimates that the net proceeds from this offering will be about $124.8 million after deducting fees and estimated offering expenses.

Invacare expects to use $5 million of the net proceeds from this offering to repurchase the company's common shares and $13.52 million to pay the cost of the convertible note hedge transactions. It intends to use the remaining net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes, which may include funding portions of the company's ongoing turnaround.

AAH extends Audit Key deadline

WASHINGTON - Providers now have until Feb. 26 to enter their fourth quarter 2015 audit data into AAHomecare's HME Audit Key. The association is seeking cumulative counts of pre- and post-payment audits and appeal claim outcomes for providers' three largest product categories under DME MAC, RAC and SMRC reviews.The information gathered will be used to demonstrate the impact of audits on the HME industry and help AAHomecare advocate for common sense reforms. To register, click here.

Tashjian Insurance to offer DME insurance

MONROVIA, Calif. - The Hanover Insurance Group has chosen Tashjian Insurance Agency to offer Hanover Durable Medical Equipment Advantage, an insurance program for DME providers. "It's often difficult for durable medical equipment providers to find insurance that will appropriately cover their unique risks and exposures,” said Vik Tashjian, president of Tashjian Insurance Agency, in a release. “This enhanced program from Hanover addresses potential coverage gaps that durable medical equipment customers may have.” The program offers professional liability, general liability and property coverage options, as well as independent medical and non-medical contractors coverage, medical director's coverage, data breach coverage and employment practice liability.

3B Medical links up with Vodafone

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - 3B Medical and BMC Medical have chosen Vodafone to deliver sleep data and compliance information wirelessly. The deal will allow patients using 3B Medical Luna devices who are traveling abroad or who don't have Wi-Fi connections in their home to automatically upload sleep data in real-time to 3B's cloud-based patient management system, iCodeConnect. “The addition of mobile data significantly enhances our wireless functionality with a device that automatically uploads to the cloud everywhere and anywhere, even across international borders on Vodafone's global mobile network," said Joe Toth, vice president of sales and marketing at 3B Medical, in a release. "Mobile data allows our devices to communicate with no patient involvement and makes sleep compliance reporting effortless.”

Women's conference moved to fall

WATERLOO, Iowa - Essentially Women's annual education conference will be held Sept. 25-26 at the Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Though the conference has traditionally been held in the spring, “the change was made to allow time for a seamless transition and rebranding of the event” after The VGM Group acquired the organization in January, according to a press release. “With the additional resources and experience that the VGM team has to offer, conference attendees can expect enhanced exhibits, additional education sessions and networking opportunities—all in a fabulous setting,” said Melinda Smith, manager of membership services for Essentially Women, in the release.

Post-acute company to create 200 jobs

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Reeves-Sain Family of Medical Services will now operate as TwelveStone Health Partners. The new post-acute care pharmacy and medical supply company will invest $14.9 million into a new 30,000-square-foot headquartersand plans to create 200 new jobs by 2020. "We have combined our best people, products, processes and technology, and we're pursuing the best opportunities in the post-acute market," Shane Reeves, co-founder of the Reeves-Sain Family of Medical Services, told The Tennessean.The company plans to provide packaged medications, infusion services, respiratory services and durable medical equipment to all 95 counties statewide, according to the newspaper. TwelveStone is the latest iteration of Reeves-Sain, which soldits drug store and specialty pharmacy business to Fred's Inc., aMemphis-based discount retailer, for $66 million last March.

Cigna stays with CareCentrix

HARTFORD, Conn. - CareCentrix and Cigna have extended their contract for two years. The contract gives Cigna's customers continued access to CareCentrix's core services, including home health/nursing care, DME and home infusion. It also gives them access to a testing and therapy adherence program for sleep-related disorders coordinated by Sleep Management Solutions, a CareCentrix company. CareCentrix has offered homecare and sleep services to millions of Cigna customers since 1996. It has a national network of 8,000 credentialed provider locations.

Short takes: RRI, DeRoyal

St. Louis, Miss.-based Responsive Respiratory Inc. has published its new oxygen solutions catalog for 2016. The catalog highlights conservers, regulators and cases, carts, racks, cylinders and accessory items, as well as the company's expanded customization program. “RRI doubled its offering of customized products over the course of last year,” stated Tom Bannon, president�Bill Pittman, president and COO of Knoxville, Tenn.-based DeRoyal, plans to retire at the end of the first quarter of 2016, after 32 years with the company. He will take over the investment portfolio that he and his father have developed under the brand Pittman Properties. Pittman's career at DeRoyal included spearheading the development and launch of hundreds of healthcare products, and expanding the company's presence internationally into 70 countries. His successor has not been named.