In Brief

The HHS OIG recently released its 2005 Work Plan, which details reviews of several DME items and services the agency will make during the next year, including documentation requirements for power wheelchairs and therapeutic shoes. The agency also plans to compare Medicare rates for wheelchairs, enteral nutrition, oxygen equipment and supplies with federal and state programs, and with wholesale and retail prices; examine how drug makers compute average sales prices (ASP); and evaluate CMS’ system for collecting and maintaining the data.

A clinician group has submitted recommendations to the government’s Interagency Wheelchair Work Group, which is charged with reshaping Medicare’s wheelchair coverage guidance by the end of the year. The 43-page document, from the Clinician Task Force of the Coalition to Modernize Medicare Coverage of Mobility Products, outlines coverage and payment rules for mobility products and includes a classification system determining functional ambulation. The document also outlines proposed requirements for a face-to-face clinical assessment, according to Laura Cohen of the Shepherd Center in Atlanta and co-coordinator of the coalition’s Clinician Task Force.

Mergers and acquisitions in HME are on the rise, according to The Braff Group, Pittsburgh. The health care merger and acquisition firm reported that 31 transactions in the HME sector were announced or completed during the second quarter — an 82 percent increase over transaction volume in the same quarter last year and a 63 percent hike over the first quarter. So far this year, HME has seen 50 transactions, explained Braff Group President Dexter Braff. As a result, the company said, M&A activity is increasing, and buyers are targeting larger deals.

CMS has proposed revisions to the CMN for oxygen along with other changes to documention for enteral and parenteral nutrition, seat-lift mechanisms and other equipment. As part of the proposal, the agency also posted its estimates on how much it costs to actually complete a CMN. CMS estimates that these CMNs should take a billing clerk “no more than 10 minutes per CMN” and a “maximum of 2 minutes for the physician.” CMS estimates that the total cost per CMN is between $4.50 and $8.

The National Quality Forum, a public-private partnership, has created a new commission to help identify solutions to the difficulties facing long-term care. The National Commission for Quality Long-Term Care, to be co-chaired by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, will be responsible for identifying factors that influence the ability to improve care and tracking future improvements in care.