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| April 18, 2011 | Volume 17, Number 15 |
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ADVERTISEMENT When it comes to switching software, data conversion is everyone's #1 fear. Our time-tested, seasoned experts have successfully performed full-scale data conversions for some of the largest providers in the industry. With one integrated software solution and quality support, TIMS Software is right on target! Request a demo today!  Table of Contents - Mood Swings at Medtrade Spring: From Uncertain to Upbeat, Life Will Be Different - Federal Budget Fight Throws Another Wrench into HME Works - Geller: Hard Numbers under Competitive Bidding - Check Your Hospital Beds Billing—Quick! - Competitive Bidding Still a 'Bad Deal,' Altmire Says - AAHomecare Survey: Mobility Providers Struggling to Adjust For more industry news, features and highlights from our latest issue, please visit our Web site at www.homecaremag.com. - Headline News Mood Swings at Medtrade Spring: From Uncertain to Upbeat, Life Will Be Different LAS VEGAS—When Chris Kinard asked Medtrade Spring attendees to describe the HME industry’s current condition in one word, the responses he got were “catastrophe,” “chaos,” “uncertainty,” “change” and “craziness.” Those answers, said Kinard, market analyst for software vendor QS1, reminded him of the old “Hee Haw” TV show song: Gloom, despair, and agony on me, Deep, dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all, Gloom, despair, and agony on me. “When I think about the HME industry, this is the song we’re all singing, and for the life of me I can’t figure out why,” Kinard told his audience in a conference session on retail technology. “You can choose to speak an absolute curse over yourself and your business by walking around with this black cloud, but there are ways to overcome it. “I’ve never been more convinced about the opportunities in our industry,” Kinard continued. It’s just that working through exactly which opportunities fit your business will take some effort, he said, whether it’s committing to HME retail or through some other avenue. That’s what attendees at the annual spring trade show, held April 12-14 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, were trying to figure out. More than 320 exhibitors, including some 70 first-timers, were there to help. In only a few examples from the Expo floor—3,500 square feet bigger than last year’s, according to show officials—VirtuOx introduced its Freedom wireless oximetry platform, which company officials say could shave up to $75 off a provider’s cost per test by lessening the number of visits to a patient’s home. Pride Mobility rolled out its Rental Ready program to help providers transition to the rental environment post-elimination of the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs. The company’s Jazzy Select Elite, for example, includes a color-through shroud that won’t show scratches, a black seat with replaceable foam and vinyl and controller guards to protect the chair from daily wear and tear. “It’s all the features that can make it easier for the provider to put the chair back out if it comes back in,” said the company’s Joe Chesna, national sales director, standard power. Numerous software makers offered new features to help providers fix their weak spots, pick up speed, increase efficiency and generally manage better. “We’re finally starting as business owners to see that if we are going to continue not only to survive but to thrive in this industry, we’re going to have to go back to the drawing board and ask, ‘What are we doing and why are we doing it?’” said Kinard. Some providers said the January implementation of Round 1 competitive bidding shocked them into coming to grips with the program, although they were still dreading its effects. While the introduction of H.R. 1041 has reenergized the industry’s grassroots effort to repeal the bidding system, providers who have already moved into retail or those who have moved away from Medicare had a more upbeat take on the future. “My philosophy on retail is that it’s something you can use to leverage whatever else you do. Our plan is to perhaps take minimal Medicare reimbursement just to get in contact with that consumer and introduce them to all the new technology that’s out there,” said Jim Greatorex, president and CEO of Black Bear Medical, Portland, Maine. “At Medtrade, every year it’s exciting because we see nothing but opportunity. When we shop, we get to look at all these new entrepreneurs that have new technology that could be in categories we feel people are willing to pay for. The one thing our industry has that we’ve got to remember is that we have demand,” Greatorex said. “It’s never-ending. We’ve got to figure out how to capitalize on that.” “Providers need to see that they can plan not to be in the Medicare business,” said Rose Schafhauser, executive director of the Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Services (MAMES). “Even if they do get a contract [under competitive bidding], life is going to be different, so they need to start planning now. “There are so many things to look at,” Schafhauser said. “Could you go into home modification? Retail? Internet sales? Too many providers are making the basic assumption that they will get a contract, but if you do that, you’re still putting all of your eggs in the Medicare basket.” The lesson, said long-time industry champion and eternal optimist Sheldon “Shelly “ Prial, who has attended Medtrade shows with bride Thelma for 30 years, is that “the time has come to forget how you did business in the past and learn how to do business today. “There are ideas here that you can use,” said Prial. “It’s time to get up off your derriere and go to work to maintain your business, maintain your customers and maintain your sanity.” Here’s what others at Medtrade Spring had to say about the reality of competitive bidding, the menace of Medicare audits and the promise of retail. “I’m here mainly to find out what people in Round 1 are experiencing so we can gauge how to go forward in Round 2 … Depending on what the bid rate is [will determine] whether or not we’re going to actually sign, even if we get selected to sign. We diversified four years ago into retail, and that’s where we’ve been trying to go. We’re at the point now where if we didn’t have a Medicare contract, there would be a lot of layoffs, but I think we would survive.” —Brad Maurer, Freedom Medical Supply, Henderson, Nev. “I’m in Round 2 of competitive bidding as the owner of a small durable medical equipment company in Porterville, Calif. It’s scary. You’ve to figure it out. You have no choice. If you do Medicare you have to bid, or else I don’t see how you’d stay in business.” —Janet Round, RN, CWCN, CWS, AWCS Medical, Porterville, Calif. “We are a multiple-location company with a location that is falling into a competitive bidding area for Round 2, and part of the reason why we’re here … is to get some idea as to what we can do to help better prepare for the bidding process as well as hear about ways to weather the storm. Honestly, it is a much darker picture than what I anticipated. There are lots of fears in our area because Oklahoma has not experienced any Round 1 bidding, so the horror stories that we’ve heard have mainly been from publications. Hearing some first-hand experience, it hits it home a little bit harder as far as what we have to do as a company to prepare.” —Jon Mayfield, regional sales manager, Central Health Services, Shawnee, Okla. “I see [retail] as the future of the HME business. I don’t think the other model is going to survive.” —Laura Berry, president, Soundview Medical Supply, Seattle, Wash. “I’ve been in this industry for over 30 years and this is the scariest time. We have worked hard, but reimbursement-wise and with other things like audits, I think that the government is so aggressive these days that I don’t know that they really care whether you try hard to be perfect.” —Jan Wallace, vice president of business administration, Performance Home Medical, Kent, Wash. “Everybody is concerned with competitive bidding and Round 2 being implemented and what it is going to do to their business. Medicare only makes up 18 percent of my revenue so it’s not a big revenue stream for me, and I’m not as concerned about whether I bid or don’t bid … I can come to Medtrade and look for good pricing instead of being worried about where my business is going to be in six to 12 months and about whether I will be open for business or go out of business.” —Darren Tarleton, president and CEO, Mobility Warehouse, Stockbridge, Ga. “The thing that concerns us most is competitive bidding, so we’re trying to get ready for Round 2. I wouldn’t say we are scared, but we are concerned and hesitant about it because we’re thinking about our profits. We are just trying to make sure we’re up to date on everything, and we’re also looking at all the new products coming out to try to bring up our revenue.” —Azania Salazar, Performance Excellence Medical, Houston, Texas br> Have you had to add staff to comply with the growing number of audits? To vote in HomeCare's monthly Web poll, visit www.HomeCareMag.com. Federal Budget Fight Throws Another Wrench into HME Works WASHINGTON—A radical Republican plan that would slice $6 trillion off federal spending over the next decade got a thumbs up on Friday—but only by House Republicans. Every Democrat voted “no.” By a vote of 235-193, the Republican-run House managed to push the $3.5 trillion, 2012 blueprint for government spending from Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., onto the Senate floor, though by some accounts there it is DOA. The Democrat-run Senate is expected instead to go along with President Obama’s 2012 budget and companion cost-cutting measures, which, announced last week, would generate $340 billion in savings by 2021 and at least $1 trillion in the following decade, in addition to savings under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The question for those in the HME sector is, will either plan harm the industry’s already challenging chances of getting H.R. 1041 passed? The bill would repeal the industry’s nemesis competitive bidding program and pay for it with $20 billion in appropriated but untapped federal discretionary funds. As of Friday afternoon, the bill had 80 cosponsors. However, both new budget-cutting measures include curtailing discretionary spending. That, coupled with the “everything is on the table for cuts” mentality in Washington, makes repeal of the bidding program a tough goal according to Washington lobbyist Dean Rosen of Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti, which works with the American Association for Homecare. The country’s financial doldrums are coloring virtually every issue on Capitol Hill, Rosen said. One reason, he told Medtrade Spring attendees at AAHomecare’s Washington Update Wednesday, is that by 2025, all the government’s money would go to its entitlement programs—Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—and to service the national debt. Lawmakers are all too aware the situation needs to be fixed, he said. Also, Ryan’s plan throws into question the very structure of the HME sector since it appears to remove the government from paying for HME, as well as hospitalizations or other health care services, instead transferring that responsibility to insurance companies. Under the plan, the president’s health reform law would be repealed, and for those now 54 and younger, Medicare would become a voucher system under which participants would select a private insurance plan. The government would shell out about $15,000 to each Medicare beneficiary to pay the premium cost. Ryan’s plan for Medicaid is to give the states block grants and let them administer the program. “Medicare is projected to go bankrupt in just nine years unless we act to curb the relentlessly rising cost of health care,” Ryan wrote April 14 in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post. “This cannot be done with across-the-board cuts in Washington. It has to be done by giving seniors the tools to fight back against skyrocketing costs. That’s why our budget saves Medicare by using competition to weed out inefficient providers, improve the quality of health care for seniors and drive costs down.” President Obama’s map for deficit reduction charts a decidedly different course. With an aim of reducing the nation’s staggering deficit—$1.6 trillion projected this year—Obama would initiate Medicare and Medicaid reforms that would not, he said, shift costs onto seniors and those with disabilities. “We will reduce wasteful subsidies and erroneous payments,” he said in announcing the cost-cutting measures during a speech at George Washington University April 13. “We will change the way we pay for health care: not by the procedure or the number of days spent in a hospital, but with new incentives for doctors and hospitals to prevent injuries and improve results.” The president said the growth of Medicare costs could be slowed by strengthening an independent commission of doctors, nurses, medical experts and consumers to recommend the “best ways to reduce unnecessary spending.” As Republicans and Democrats duke it out over the budget and fixes for the embattled Medicare and Medicaid systems in the coming weeks, AAHomecare President Tyler Wilson told the audience at the Update session that providers have got to keep up the noise on H.R. 1041. “We know home care can play a role [in reducing health care costs] but you can’t decimate the industry with competitive bidding and you can’t decimate the industry with audits and a whole bunch of other regulatory burdens and expect the industry to serve the needs of the Medicare population going forward,” Wilson said. “We all have to become advocates,” he said, and providers need to get involved now. “Don’t wait for tomorrow because, in all candor, there is no tomorrow.” Added Rosen, “The industry has a lot at stake. We’re going to have to be part of the solution.” Geller: Hard Numbers under Competitive Bidding LAS VEGAS—“Life was pretty good on Dec. 21, 2010,” said John Geller, vice president of 61-year-old Medical Service Co. in Cleveland. “I put my head down on the pillow that evening and when I woke up on Jan. 1, no question it was a new day.” Geller, whose company was awarded multiple contracts in three competitive bidding areas in the Round 1 rebid, said management thought it was prepared for the start of the program. But he called what it has encountered since the bid’s Jan. 1 implementation the “triple witching hour,” citing a 33.5 percent reduction in oxygen reimbursement, the mounting pressure of audits and, on top of that, “deductibles season.” “Roughly 100 days into it, I can’t tell you yet we’re a survivor,” Geller said April 12 at a Medtrade Spring session called “Round 1 Lessons Learned.” While some probably breathed a sigh of relief that Round 2 will be delayed by six months, he cautioned that delay will not soften the impact of the bidding program on any company’s business. In the Cleveland CBA, he noted as an example, payment for an E1390 oxygen concentrator dropped from about $175 to $103 under that CBA’s bid rates. “How do you provide services having a price reduction from $175 to $103?” Geller asked the audience. “How do you make it work?”’ Questions like those are what providers in Round 2 need to figure out, he said. “In competitive biding, there’s going to be a significant price reduction from what you’re currently being paid. You need to understand what it’s going to cost you.” Geller suggested doing some “guerilla math” to get an idea: For any products you are interested in for Round 2, take the existing competitive bidding prices now in effect from any one of the nine CBAs. “Subtract that amount from what you are currently being paid,” Geller said. Apply the difference to revenues from that product for current patients from January through March, and multiply by four. “That’s the annual impact of lost revenue you’ll have,” he explained. Then begin to prepare yourself for how you’re going to live under those bid rates, he said. “How will you change your business structure to be able to afford to exist under those rates?” His advice to providers who will be caught up in Round 2? “Stash your cash,” Geller said. “I cannot tell you how important that is. For those of you who still have cash available, zip up your pockets and hang on to it, because you’re going to need it.” Session moderator Miriam Lieber said that advice is important for all providers because “everywhere you turn you need additional cash” to defend against unknowns in the industry’s rapidly changing environment. “The truth is, each and every one of you is actually involved in competitive bidding,” said Lieber of Lieber Consulting, Sherman Oaks, Calif. “Whether you like it or not, it is impacting you.” Check Your Hospital Beds Billing—Quick! LAS VEGAS—Do you bill mostly E0260 hospital beds vs. E0250? If so, said Wayne van Halem, president of The van Halem Group, Atlanta, watch out, because that means you could be facing an audit. “This is a problem because Medicare is an entitlement program. Medicare likes to pay for the least costly alternative,” said van Halem. “The least costly alternative is E0250, so if you are solely billing the E0260, it is likely you are going to be the subject of an audit because they are cracking down on this very strongly.” Van Halem should know. He’s a former fraud investigator for Medicare. If your patient doesn’t meet the additional criteria necessary to qualify for a semi-electric bed (the E0260), van Halem said, “you can still provide that but you have to bill it as an upgrade.” Another caution: Get prepared for more “surprise audits” from the NSC if you operate in Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Houston, New York City or Detroit. Those six areas have been designated as “high risk” for Medicare fraud, “so if you are one of the lucky folks who live in those areas, you need to take extra time to be prepared,” van Halem said. Speaking April 13 at a Medtrade Spring session on coordinating internal and external audits, van Halem and health care attorney Clay Stribling, president of Amarillo, Texas-based HC Comply, stressed that getting prepared for the growing number of Medicare audits is a provider’s best defense. If you aren’t hit with an audit of some type, you will likely be the exception, the audit experts said. Just check the list of external auditors van Halem ticked off that are now operating on Medicare’s behalf: • Medical Review, including both pre- and post-pay audits by the DME MACs • Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) • Recovery Audit Contractors • Benefit Integrity Audits/Investigations (formerly Program Safeguard Contractors, or PSCs, now transitioning to Zone Program Integrity Contractors, or ZPICs) • HHS’ Office of Audit Services • National Supplier Clearinghouse, Supplier Audit and Compliance Unit With the pace of both RAC and ZPIC audits in particular on the increase, the best way to get prepared is to build what Stribling called the “triangle of compliance.” First, he said, do an internal audit ahead of time to find out your vulnerabilities. “Know your LCDs,” he said, and create an “audit checklist” from looking at the LCD for each of the main products you are providing. Second, implement corrective action. Third, train your staff. Then six months later, go back and audit again to make sure the corrections and training held, Stribling said. “Your compliance officer needs to be empowered,” said Stribling, because it takes both time and money to develop an internal audit program. How effective that program is in helping you fend off audits probably depends on “how many hats” your compliance officer/internal audit coordinator wears, he said. If that employee also happens to be your company’s billing manager and safety coordinator, that doesn’t leave much time to focus on internal auditing. If you don’t think the time and money is worth it, consider van Halem’s comments on the RACs and ZPICs alone. The RACs, which he termed “Medicare’s bounty hunters” (because they are paid a contingency fee on what they recover), are now moving from automated to complex reviews, which means they will be requesting medical records. In addition, the RACs are now cross-referencing HME claims data with physician claims data to see if it matches up with office visits, etc. Or, for example, “if you have a high percentage of claims coming from one physician,” van Halem said, in the RACs’ eyes that could indicate an inappropriate relationship, and the auditors will look at that. As for the ZPICs, van Halem said, “These are the most aggressive audits that I’ve seen in the 15 years I’ve been working in this industry.” It’s not uncommon for providers to be placed on 100 percent prepayment review without notice, he said. “You get 30 days to respond, and it takes them anywhere from 60 to 90 days to process, so you are looking at a minimum of 90 days with no revenue coming in from Medicare. “This is something you can’t sit and wait to see if it’s going to happen,” van Halem emphasized. “You have to prepare for it.” Competitive Bidding Still a 'Bad Deal,' Altmire Says Worst fears realized in first months of Round 1 WASHINGTON—As thousands of HME providers and others met at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas—many trying to figure out how to survive under competitive bidding—across the country in Washington Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., delivered an April 14 floor speech against the program in the House of Representatives. Following its problematic two-week implementation in 2008, Altmire helped introduce legislation to redesign the bidding program and delay its start for 18 months. “Critical flaws in the initial bidding process produced fewer competitors, fewer home care services and a substantial decrease in the quality of care offered to seniors and individuals with disabilities,” he said. In his four-minute oration, the Pennsylvania congressman said “it became clear that CMS did not foresee the unintended consequences that could result, including the possibility that patients could lose personal relationships they've developed with their local provider, in turn compromising their quality of care. Or the possibility that small suppliers, which make up well over 90 percent of the nation's medical equipment providers, would not be able to compete in the new market.” Last month, Altmire and Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., introduced H.R. 1041 to repeal competitive bidding entirely. In the first few months since the program’s re-implementation in January, Altmire said, “the worst fears expressed by patients, providers and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have been realized. It's clear that despite the delay, the direction from Congress, no significant improvements have been made to the program or the process. “Providers who have served beneficiaries for years are closing their doors and patients have been left confused and unsure where to turn for their care.” While Altmire said CMS’ recent six-month delay of Round 2 (until the summer of 2013) is a good sign, “it doesn’t do anything to help the beneficiaries and small businesses that have already been negatively impacted by Round 1.” Stated Altmire, “The program continues to be a bad deal for seniors and small business owners.” Altmire and Thompson’s repeal bill, the Fairness in Medicare Bidding Act, currently has 80 cosponsors. Read the text of H.R. 1041. AAHomecare Survey: Mobility Providers Struggling to Adjust WASHINGTON—A survey of HME companies released April 11 by the American Association for Homecare found that many HME power wheelchair providers have made “abrupt changes” in their operations to comply with new Medicare policies. The regulatory changes, however, have made it difficult for some businesses to provide quality products and service, according to the association. Following is AAHomecare’s release on the survey results: The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) said more than 125 businesses across the country were contacted for the survey, providing the most extensive research to date on how companies are adjusting to the federal mandates. These include the controversial competitive bidding process for most home medical equipment, replacing a first-month purchase option with a 13-month rental program for power wheelchairs, as well as other factors, such as extensive government audits and confusing guidelines for documenting medical necessity for mobility assistance. Many providers reported negative consequences ranging from planning lay-offs, no longer offering power wheelchairs and going out of business to the need to find additional warehouse space for used equipment and struggles to perform repairs for some patients. Specifically, the survey found that: • 65 percent said their ability to service Medicare beneficiaries has been compromised • 48 percent said their repair policy has changed • 45 percent said the area in which they service patients has changed • 28 percent said their level of staffing has been impacted. "These companies are frustrated by government policies that are creating obstacles to providing mobility assistance to Medicare beneficiaries," said Tyler Wilson, CEO and president of AAHomecare. "Yet, many companies are making adjustments in their business operations so that Medicare beneficiaries can continue to receive power wheelchairs." Wilson said the business owners provided valuable insight into how the actions taken by lawmakers and bureaucrats are impacting providers and Medicare beneficiaries. Furthermore, Wilson asserted that the government polices are yielding many unintended consequences that must be addressed, including forcing providers to "cherry-pick" the Medicare beneficiaries they can afford to assist, while others may go without mobility assistance. These new burdens, he said, are taking a toll on home medical equipment providers, whose frustrations are evidenced in the survey responses. Mark Nice of Central Medical Equipment Company in Harrisburg, Pa., said that while government reimbursements for power wheelchairs have declined, administrative costs are increasing. "We now need more inventory and have to wait to recoup our expenses," he said. "I now need to have a person call every rental each month and check on status. This will possibly lead to hiring another billing clerk and an additional service tech at a time when reimbursement has been severely impacted." Moreover, Nice said the policy changes will hamper Medicare patients. "Patients will now be given the minimum equipment," he said, adding that adjustments for leg length, arm height and seat to floor height likely won't be made because the priority will be on issuing wheelchairs that are already in a company's inventory. Nice also noted that the cheaper equipment that will now be provided to Medicare customers will be lower quality than was previously available, will likely need more repairs and may not even last the five year period before beneficiaries are allowed to replace it. The 13-month rental policy, which was shrouded with controversy, was implemented because the government contended Medicare beneficiaries might die shortly after receiving mobility assistance. The change was made despite studies by the largest providers showing that between 86 percent and 94 percent of Medicare patients lived longer than 13 months after receiving a power wheelchair. Now, because of the policy, many businesses are in the unfair position of rationing medical equipment that has been prescribed for Medicare patients by their physicians. Small businesses, in particular, are impacted because many only provide a few power wheelchairs a year. "Unfortunately, I have to consider the longevity of the patient prior to a power chair order," said Glenn Steinke of Air-Way Medical, in Bishop, Calif. "If the patient may not live through the rental cap, I will have to take back a very used chair. What will I do with it then?" Other providers acknowledged that they have to carefully select customers who are less likely to need extensive repairs on their chairs. "I have reduced the amount of chairs I will provide." said one business owner, who asked not to be identified. "I have to say "no" to certain patients that I know will be heavy users of the products that can cost me a lot in repairs." Nancy Oyen of Finley Hartig Homecare in Dubuque, Iowa, added: "Several of our competitors are no longer doing electric wheelchairs. We only do basic power wheelchairs - no rehab. We find out patient history before accepting a patient - trying to determine where they will be living in 12 months and overall medical condition to determine if they will be alive throughout 12 months." But a provider in the Charlotte, N.C., area, who asked not to be identified, said she is leaving the business altogether. Over the past three years, she said her company has suffered through a 30 percent decrease in earnings due to Medicare cuts and the sluggish economy. "We are no longer offering Medicare power chairs at all," she said. "We simply can't afford to buy high quality, new equipment and put it out under the current rental arrangement. Medicare beneficiaries want new equipment and we have no way of certifying how rental power equipment has been maintained and cared for while in the hands of any beneficiary." Since the beginning of the year, when the mandatory rental policy replaced a Medicare patient's option to purchase a power wheelchair, she said, "We have already turned patients away. I don't even know where to send them. We are not physically in a competitive bidding area, but most [companies] around us stopped doing them last year due to the significant documentation requirements. I guess they saw the writing on the wall. One lady I spoke with had already called four companies and was still searching. Let's hope that she can find a reputable company before she falls and requires a hospital stay." Janet Round of AWCS Medical, Inc., in Porterville, Calif., said she has also stopped offering standard power wheelchairs. "We will no longer be able to provide the standard power wheelchair to our patient population," she said, noting that problems have arisen with other medical equipment on rental programs. "The initial cost of the chair prohibits using it as a rental. We have found too many patients think they own DME (Durable Medical) equipment such as hospital beds, even when we have not received the 13 months of rental. They move out of state with our equipment or their family sells the equipment when the patient expires and there is no way for a provider to recoup the loss. I can't take the chance of them taking off with the power chair when we would have so much invested in the chair." Others providers are also concerned. "Providing power mobility now has the word 'RISK' written all over it," said Serina Breen of Freedom Mobility Center, LLC, in Rodeo, Calif. "The rigorous and time-consuming documentation requirements required for power mobility along with the high risk of charge back already make providing power mobility equipment expensive and risky. Now with the elimination of the first month purchase option, this adds even more expense and risk to providers as we must purchase expensive equipment upfront and risk not being able to recoup the cost of our investment. As a result, we will provide less power mobility equipment to Medicare, and look to build our business with other product categories and insurers instead." Matthew Boyd of Hattiesburg Medical Supply, in Hattiesburg, Miss., said, "We will be keeping less inventory and have changed which models we carry. We are carrying less expensive models due to the changes. Our service to our customers will be the same, however these policies affect the quality of power chairs available. We used to offer higher end chairs, but this is impossible now." Another provider, Donald Jones of Southern Medical Equipment Corp., in Cullman, Ala., maintained that the government policies are inconsistent with the needs of the Medicare beneficiaries, who are prescribed power mobility to help them ambulate in their homes. "Consumer power chairs, in order to meet the Medicare requirements, are only for patients that cannot walk due to a long term disability," he said. "The beneficiaries in this category are rough on the equipment. There is no way that a dealer can afford to finance the power chair and be expected to provide repairs on this type of equipment for five years." Jones noted that if the rental chair is returned to the provider prior to the end of the 13-month rental period, the provider will have to pay to "completely refurbish the chair" before it could even be rented to a new Medicare patient. Wilson, of AAHomecare, said the survey comments unfortunately reflect the current state of mobility providers across the country. "These business owners are committed to helping people living with disabilities improve their quality of life," Wilson said. "But oftentimes government policies are obstacles. It's very unfortunate that Medicare beneficiaries are becoming the victims of bad public policy." To revisit this news anytime during the week, check www.HomeCareMag.com. We welcome your comments. Drop a line to HomeCare Editor-in-Chief Gail Walker at gwalker@homecaremag.com. ADVERTISEMENT |
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