Tag: Therapy
In brief: PHE ends, CMS audits Medicare Advantage, CQRC calls for safeguards
February 3, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has announced that the public health emergency will end on May 11, 2023.
Under the last declaration in January, the PHE was set to end on April 11.
“The advance notice goes beyond HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra’s previous guidance to health care stakeholders that the agency would provide at least 60 days advance notice before ending the PHE,” AAHomecare noted in a bulletin.
Knowing when the PHE will end gives industry...
Home infusion: Interest still high, inventory still low
March 4, 2022Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine – A handful of recently announced deals underscores the continued appetite for home infusion companies propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, say M&A analysts.
Option Care Health recently announced it acquired Wasatch Infusion and entered into an agreement to acquire Specialty Pharmacy Nursing Network.
“Option Care has been doing deals for 20 years and I don’t think that’s going to stop – they continue to fill out their geographic...
Audits slowly ramp up
July 9, 2021Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – The DME MACs are moving forward with audits for claims filed after March 2020, when COVID-19 hit the U.S. and certain waivers went into effect, but audit experts don’t anticipate any widespread problems.
Early in the pandemic, CMS temporarily waived several requirements, including coverage criteria, face-to-face requirements and delivery signatures for respiratory equipment.
“The MACs have been easing into audits since last August, even though...
In brief: Bid relief becomes official, BioScrip restructures credit
December 16, 2016HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama on Dec. 13 signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, which offers some relief to HME providers in rural areas.
The bill, passed by the House of Representatives on Nov. 30 and the Senate on Dec. 7, will retroactively delay Medicare cuts that went into effect in non-competitive bidding areas from June 30, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2016, allowing providers to recoup six months worth of payments.
The same cuts will go back into effect, however, on Jan. 1, 2017.
Still,...
Patterson Medical secures exclusive rights
July 7, 2015HME News Staff
WARRENVILLE, Ill. - Patterson Medical has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with DJO Global to distribute the Chattanooga Fluidotherapy line of products. Effective July 1, Patterson Medical now serves as the sole supplier of the Fluidotherapy models for single extremity and double extremity use. Fluidotherapy is a dry heat therapy that transfers energy to soft tissues through suspended particles. In other news, Patterson Medical has announced that it was recently awarded the Supplier...
Sleep apnea: It's better managed at home, study says
May 27, 2014HME News Staff
SAN DIEGO - Testing for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and initiating treatment with an APAP device at home vs. in a lab reduces costs and doesn't negatively impact clinical outcomes, according to a new study. The study, presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference, May 16-21, in San Diego, enrolled 296 subjects, with roughly half beginning CPAP at home and the other half in a lab. Researchers found the cost of home testing was significantly lower than the cost of lab testing...