Tag: Mail-Order
Former Arriva consultant settles allegations
February 16, 2022HME News Staff
STUART, Fla. – Ted Albin, a reimbursement consultant who provided services to Arriva Medical, and his firm, Grapevine Billing and Consulting Services, have agreed to pay $50,000 to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In an emailed statement to HME News, an attorney representing Albin and Grapevine, said the case was without merit.
"Mr. Albin and Grapevine did nothing wrong, and they should never have been part...
OIG: Non-mail order makes up majority of DST claims
January 31, 2020HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Non-mail order claims for diabetes testing supplies made up 85% of the total Medicare market between April 1, 2019, and June 30, 2019, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General. Suppliers provided 25 brands of testing supplies to Medicare beneficiaries via non-mail order and 21 brands via mail order. The OIG sent documentation requests to 594 non-mail order suppliers and 18 mail-order suppliers to conduct its study. A rule outlined in the Medicare Improvements for...
Mystery surrounds nat'l mail-order program for diabetes testing supplies
March 29, 2019Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - With the national mail-order program for diabetes testing supplies on hold indefinitely, it's anybody's guess what will happen next.“We were all expecting another round—we still are,” said Mary Ellen Conway, chief compliance officer for Doral, Fla.-based US Med, one of nine companies holding a mail-order contract that expired Dec. 31, 2018. “We make the program work. The reimbursements are lousy, but there's strength in numbers.”CMS on March 7 announced...
OIG: Handful of strips dominated Medicare mail-order market
January 16, 2019HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The top two strips accounted for 53% of the Medicare mail-order market, and the top 10 strips accounted for 98% of the market, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General.
Overall, suppliers in Medicare's national mail-order program provided 17 types of test strips during the three-month period between April 1, 2018, and June 30, 2018, the OIG found.
To conduct the report, the OIG sampled 1,210 claims from a population of 313,704 claims.
Suppliers must...
'We will continue to talk to Congress,' diabetes group says
November 20, 2018Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine - Medicare's mail-order program for diabetes testing supplies has decimated the industry, shutting out suppliers and drastically cutting reimbursement.
When mail-order contracts go away come Jan. 1, access could get dicey for patients, says Christel Aprigliano, CEO of the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition.
“There is no obligation for these suppliers to provide mail-order supplies and that greatly concerns the diabetes community,” she said. “Not having...
Extended bid contracts? 'Either way you lose'
May 18, 2018Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
YARMOUTH, Maine - If CMS decides to extend current competitive bidding contracts, a slight majority (53%) of respondents to a recent HME Newspoll say they would accept them—reluctantly.
“We currently have the contract and have provided the equipment and services, so it just makes sense to continue with it,” said one respondent to a recent HME Newspoll. “Either way, you lose.”
Contracts for both competitive bidding and the national mail-order contract for diabetes...
Mail-order changes a 'good first step'
March 9, 2018Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - Requiring CMS to enforce its own rules for the mail-order diabetes program will help to preserve beneficiary choice, say stakeholders.
“This certainly a good first step in trying to rectify a bad program,” said Kurt Anderson, director of advocacy for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. “There were some loopholes in the law that suppliers took advantage of.”
The budget for the Department of Health and Human Services for fiscal year 2019 included...
Diabetes advocates march forward
August 11, 2017Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - A bill that would protect access to diabetes supplies for Medicare beneficiaries is expected to get introduced in the Senate soon, say advocates.
“I'll be back up (to Washington D.C.) and talking to congressional individuals, as well as mobilizing the patient community, to remind them this is an important issue,” said Christel Aprigliano, CEO of the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition.
A bill already introduced in the House of Representatives seeks to strengthen...
In brief: Judge deals setback to Arriva Medical, BioScrip reports earnings
May 5, 2017HME News Staff
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - Arriva Medical on April 25 lost an appeal seeking to reinstate its Medicare billing privileges, according to news reports.
Earlier this month, a spokesperson for the provider of diabetes testing supplies told HME News, “Arriva is in the midst of the administrative appeals process, with an appeal pending before an administrative law judge.”
An administrative law judge for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has now ruled Arriva Medical's admission...
Arriva gets day in court
January 11, 2017HME News Staff
WALTHAM Mass. - CMS has agreed not to terminate Arriva Medical's mail-order contract while the provider appeals to have its license reinstated.
An administrative law judge has required both parties to have initial briefings finished by Jan. 18. A hearing is scheduled for Feb. 8 before the Federal District Judge, stated Alere, Arriva Medicals's parent company, in a press release. CMS revoked Arriva Medical's billing privileges in November for allegedly submitting 211 claims...