Briefs

Medicare OK's compression reimbursement CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Medicare authorized reimbursed to providers Oct. 1 for two gradient compression hosiery stockings - L8110 ($36-$43)and L8120 ($50-61). This is the first time Medicare has agreed to pay for items in a product category that's typically sold off the shelf. To qualify, patients must have an open venous stasis ulcer that requires medically necessary debridement by a physician or other healthcare professional. The stocking must deliver compression greater than 30 mmHg and less than 50 mmHg. Scott is new mother to Mother-to-Be BELLEVILLE, Kan. - Scott Specialties, a $10 million manufacturer of support products, rounded out its line of orthopedic products with the Oct. 30 acquisition of CMO, a 20-year-old company best known for its Mother-to-Be maternity support. Scott plans to close down CMO's Ohio facilities and transfer key personnel to its operation to Kansas. “CMO did more in the physician market, so the acquisition will bring more of that business to us,” said Linda Ashton, Scott's vice president of marketing. “Otherwise, our lines complement each other.” Ashton said CMO generated sales of about $3 million per year. Outtakes Fidelis Software has struck a strategic partnership with RemitDATA that will integrate Remit's Denial Management Reporting service into the Brightree web-based management software… Harmar Mobility has been added to Inc. magazine's 2003 list of America's fastest growing private companies. Inc. ranked Harmar Mobility 60th on the list in the company's first year of eligibility… Computer Applications Unlimited has doubled the square footage of its corporate office space with the purchase of a new facility in Susquehanna Township near Harrisburg, Pa. CAU expects to settle into its new, spacious surroundings within the next six months… Blueair has launched a quarterly newsletter for home health suppliers on products, trade show schedules, dealer contests, consumer sales communication tools and other issues.