Briefs: Medicare cuts, debt overwhelm Fuller

RINGGOLD, Ga. - Fuller Rehab went bankrupt and sold $6.9 million in assets to Salt Lake City-based Orbit Medical, according to a story published in February in the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The company has total debt of $12.5 million, including $3.2 million to Northwest Georgia Bank and $7 million to Pride Mobility Products, the newspaper reported. Mike Fuller told the newspaper that the company has been struggling to cope with cuts to Medicare payments, laying off about 20 employees and closing some locations last year. The last straw: A new policy that went into effect Jan. 1 that eliminated the first-month purchase option for standard power wheelchairs. "I could not finance the equipment because what I had to do was buy the equipment, pay all my workers, then pay $2.5 million in interest to the bank," he told the newspaper. "It breaks my heart, but I don't know how to fix it." Attempts by HME News to reach company officials were unsuccessful.

Under review: K0823

WASHINGTON - Cigna Government Services, the Jurisdiction C DME MAC, announced in February that it would be implementing a service-specific prepayment edit for K0823 power wheelchairs. The edit is the result of data demonstrating "a high claims payment error rate." Claims subjected to this edit will be developed for additional documentation, including, but not limited to, physicians seven-element detailed written order, detailed product description, in-home assessment, signed delivery documentation  and face-to-face evaluation.

The Scooter Store boosts call volume

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - Interactive Softworks announced in February that The Scooter Store has implemented its customer engagement software to manage its contact center operations. The software allows The Scooter Store to more efficiently manage its database of 3.5 million sales leads and increase call volumes by six times to more than 14,000 customer calls per day, according to a release. "We have combined contact center, outbound calling operations and analytics in a single system," stated Brian Mullaney, senior vice president of the customer contact center at The Scooter Store.

Short takes

National Seating & Mobility welcomed Roland Reyes, an ATP, to its new McAllen, Texas, location in February...The Reeve Foundation is concerned that competitive bidding will result in reduced access to suppliers of wheelchairs, it stated in a release in February.