In Brief

Mississippi lawmakers passed legislation that will borrow money from the state’s tobacco trust fund to keep the Medicaid program afloat. The state’s Medicaid program, which carried a $268 million deficit, came dangerously close to bankruptcy last month. Some providers reported seeing more products not being covered under Medicaid because of the state’s fiscal trouble.

A bill requiring Indiana HME licensure is making its way through the state legislature and has strong support for passage before the current session ends this month. The Association for Indiana Home Medical Equipment Services has been working for the past three years to get HMEs licensed, according Jean Macdonald, the association’s director of public policy, but the effort had stalled until the state made HME fraud prevention a priority last year.

Some Alabama providers predict state Medicaid officials will bring back a rule requiring providers to hold special certification to supply adult power chairs. Earlier this year, the state ruled — and later reversed the decision — that such providers must hold an ATS (assistive technology supplier) certification from the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America (RESNA). Before July 2004, the state only covered power chairs for children. After losing an anti-discrimination suit, Medicaid began covering basic power chairs for adults — but at 30 to 40 percent below Medicare allowables.