Tag: Durable Medical Equipment (DME)
Physician sentenced in kickback case
October 31, 2024HME News Staff
DALLAS – Daniel R. Canchola, M.D., has been sentences to 10 years and one month in prison and ordered to pay more than $34 million in restitution for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare by prescribing durable medical equipment and cancer genetic testing without seeing, speaking to or otherwise treating patients. According to court documents, Canchola, of Flower Mound, Texas, agreed to electronically sign doctor’s orders for DME and cancer genetic testing that he knew were used to...
William Felix on recognizing innovation, while protecting Medicare
October 18, 2024Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine – Dr. William Felix has worn many hats throughout his career, including chief medical officer for Medicare DMEPOS and medical director of the Pricing, Data Analysis and Coding division at Palmetto GBA, but one constant is his passion for getting innovative technology into the hands of patients.
“The sooner the patient or the beneficiary can have their hands on this technology that can improve their quality of life, along with a healthy lifestyle, and their lives...
Wheel it Forward launches national directory
March 13, 2024HME News Staff
STAMFORD, Conn. – Wheel It Forward, a volunteer-run community library that lends out and accepts donations of DME, has launched the GotDME National Directory (www.GotDME.org). This resource aims to connect individuals in need with organizations across the country that offer free borrowing and donation options for essential DME like wheelchairs, walkers, hospital beds, rollators, knee scooters, shower safety equipment and more. "This directory fills an important gap by providing easy access...
O’Neal Medical ‘moves on’ from DME
March 8, 2024Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
PELHAM, Ala. – The business of providing durable medical equipment is rapidly becoming one of diminishing returns, says Woody O’Neal, who recently announced plans to phase out that part of his business to focus on respiratory products.
It’s a big switch for a company that once held competitive bidding contracts and had built up a “very large book of DME business,” says O’Neal, vice president of O’Neal Medical.
“The outlook for traditional...
ONeal Medical phases out DME to focus on respiratory
February 19, 2024HME News Staff
PELHAM, Ala. – ONeal Medical will stop filling durable medical equipment orders for new patients after March 31, 2024 as it focuses on home respiratory, including oxygen and sleep therapy. The provider will continue to service its existing DME patients and will accept DME orders for new patients if the order includes oxygen or sleep therapy equipment. “As a home owned and operated business, we continue to be deeply committed to our local community, and support many local charitable organizations....
Report: PE-backed companies bad for patients
November 16, 2023HME News Staff
WASHINGTON – A new report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project and the National Disability Rights Network highlights the toll the PE business model has had on people who rely on durable medical equipment.
The report finds:
Private equity firms have increasingly bought up DME manufacturers and suppliers and consolidated them. Through aggressive debt-funded growth strategies, a handful of private equity-owned DME companies have grown from nonexistence to industry...
Parachute earns HITRUST status
March 8, 2023HME News Staff
PRINCETON, N.J. – Parachute Health has earned certified status for information security by HITRUST for its Health DME ePrescribing Platform. The HITRUST risk-based, 2-year certified status demonstrates that the Parachute Health platform has met key regulations and industry-defined requirements and is appropriately managing risk. "We are committed to prioritizing security and data protection so the industry can confidently continue to adopt this game-changing technology that helps serve patients...
Repair Authority goes all in
February 10, 2023Liz Beaulieu, Editor
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio – Repair Authority is on the “offense,” says CEO Jesse Keirn, acquiring Manchester, Tenn.-based Pitcock Biomedical and planning to rebrand MSC Biomedical, which it merged with in 2022, under its own name.
Pitcock Biomedical, which was founded in 1992 and serves Tennessee and surrounding states, gives Repair Authority an outpost in the Southeast that complements its location in Strongsville, Ohio, and MSC’s locations in Houston and Forth Worth, Texas,...
Hospice Source names new CIO
February 1, 2023HME News Staff
DALLAS – Hospice Source, a hospice-focused durable medical equipment company founded in 1997, has promoted Tim Hines to CIO. Hines has been in the information technology and product management space for more than 25 years and has served as Hospice Source’s vice president of product and technology since June 2021, leading the successful development and deployment of the company’s new DME fulfillment system. “In addition to Tim’s strong expertise and knowledge, his heart...
Witkowski pleads guilty to Medicare fraud
January 23, 2023HME News Staff
NEW YORK – Matthew Taylor Witkowksi has pled guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and will be sentenced April 20, according to the Department of Justice. From at least August 2019 through the date of his arrest in July 2022, Witkowski and a co-conspirator engaged in a scheme to defraud Medicare by illegally obtaining and selling fraudulent written orders for goods and services paid for by Medicare, including for durable medical equipment. Using a call center that he owned...