Tag: On The Editor's Desk
Are providers branching out?
April 10, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
I just checked the results of our HME NewsPoll and, so far, with 126 respondents, they're looking very interesting.
First, we asked our readers whether they submitted one or more bids for Round 2 of competitive bidding. About 83% reported they did. That's not surprising, though 83% is a little lower than I thought it would be. That means 17% of providers didn't submit a bid. Based on a quick glance at the comments to the Poll, it looks like these providers have decided to wash their hands of Medicare.
Second,...
Don't count on the U.S. Supreme Court
April 4, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
You might not want to count on the U.S. Supreme Court to save the HME industry from a host of painful provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Those provisions include, among others, expanding competitive bidding to 21 additional areas, applying a 2.3% excise tax on medical devices, and eliminating the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs.
AAHomecare pointed out last week that if the court decides in June to overturn the ACA it would effectively eliminate those provisions.
Which...
All pep, no whine
March 30, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
I'll admit that it kind of irked me when one of our readers posted a comment to our website that called HME News "Medicare Whine Central." The reason for that lovely moniker: The plethora of stories we write on competitive bidding.
The reader's right, of course.
While I'm not going to defend our coverage of competitive bidding , as I feel like I've done that many, many times before, I do think it's worth repeating that HME News is often a mere reflection of the prevalent mood of HME providers at...
A Jet Blue flight to Vegas, then lights, camera, action
March 28, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
Like many of you, I'm heading to Las Vegas in less than two weeks for Medtrade Spring. I have reservations about this, but it has nothing to do with the show, which I know will be great!
My reservations are heretofore:
1.) I'm flying Jet Blue, which was more appealing before this happened. Mind you, you're reading the words of a person who:
shows up at the airport at least two hours early (with no exceptions, even when departing from PWM, you know, Portland, Maine);
who,...
Vince Crew's parting words for the HME industry
March 23, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
Vince Crew, a familiar and friendly face at HME conferences for 15 years, has decided to take his consulting company, Reach Development, in a new direction by working with other healthcare companies like hospitals. Here's what Crew had to say in an “exit interview” with HME News this week.
HME News: What's one thing that you have witnessed in the HME industry in the past 15 years that sticks out in your mind?
Vince Crew: It's the only industry I know of that, the better they've gotten,...
Don't know what to say about MPP? Here are some CliffsNotes
March 20, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
We're starting to report on our May issue this week, so I've been talking to a lot of folks, digging around for story ideas. Competitive bidding, of course, is top of mind for most folks. (Except, perhaps, one stakeholder in Ohio, who, at the moment, is enjoying serving several rural areas that are not part of Round 1 or 2.)
With the bid window for Round 2 closing next week, on March 31, I've had some interesting conversations with folks about what the single payment amounts will be this time...
How's your bad debt?
March 16, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
It didn't surprise HME consultant Karen Moore when Rotech Healthcare announced this week, as part of its latest financial earnings, that its bad debt was too high and that it would fight to get it under control.
Moore, vice president of AnCor Healthcare Consulting, says many HME providers are looking to reduce bad debt as a way to make up for lost revenue.
“With all the decreases in reimbursement, that's where you can do some picking up,” she said. “The industry standard is 3% but...
Change your attitude, try the French-fry close and stay away from extremes
March 13, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
Last week, we kicked off our new schedule of HME New TV interviews for the next two months. This round of interviews covers a pretty wide range of topics. I'm pretty sure there's something here for everyone.
Win or lose at competitive bidding, you're scrutinizing your operations, right? Tune in right now for Miriam Lieber of Lieber Consulting on "Change your attitude about operational efficiency."
Wondering how much money you'll save with a modern software platform? Tune in tomorrow for Jana Macon...
Getting down to the business of running a business
March 7, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
I've been talking to a lot of HME providers in the past few weeks about our HME News Business Summit. In a nutshell, I've been asking them: What do you want to know more about?
One provider summed it up pretty succinctly this way:
1.) What are new sources of revenue (mainly new sources of revenue that have nothing to do with the product categories included in competitive bidding)?
2.) How can I improve efficiency (win or lose in competitive bidding, you're going to have to make due with significantly...
A hypocrite and a telling comment
March 1, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor
We get emails all the time from HME providers and other stakeholders pointing stuff out. These emails often sit in my inbox for some time. They're interesting and noteworthy, but there's no way we can write stories about them all.
So in an effort to clean out my inbox (a great activity when you're working at home because it's blizzarding outside and you're avoiding programming the HME News Business Summit), I'm going to share a few of them with you here.
Former provider...