National NewsWire

Noteworthy

CMS Granting Appeals Extensions: The Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services April 15 began granting extensions of up to 60 days in the 120-day filing deadline for appeals of Part B claims for which initial determinations were made on or after Oct. 1, 2002. The appeal request must include a credible explanation of why the provider needed additional time to gather the necessary supporting records for the claim.

HomeCare Honored for News Coverage: HomeCare magazine was honored recently as one of three finalists in its class for the 2003 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for Best New Coverage. Presented by American Business Media, the Neal Awards are the nation’s most prestigious business-to-business editorial awards. This year’s panel of judges selected HomeCare from more than 1,000 entries as one of the nation’s outstanding business magazines. Staff members recognized include Brook Raflo, senior writer, and Paula Patch, managing editor.

CMS Announces DME Coding Meetings: The Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will hold public meetings to discuss preliminary coding and payment determinations for new durable medical equipment June 24-26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., each day, at the CMS Auditorium. Information about the meeting agenda and registration is available at http://cms.hhs.gov/medicare/hcpcs/default.asp.

In other CMS news, public meetings of the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Special Payment Provisions and Requirements for Prosthetics and Certain Custom-Fabricated Orthotics will be held May 19-20 and June 2-3 at the Hilton Pikesville in Baltimore. For information, go to http://cms.hhs.gov/faca/prosthetic.

FDA Issues User-Fee Guidance for Small Businesses: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has published guidance explaining how medical device manufacturers can certify their status as “small businesses,” within the meaning of the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act of 2002. Qualifying small businesses are eligible for reduced or waived small business fees for medical device applications submitted to the FDA. The guidance is available at www.fda.gov/oc/mdufma.

People & Places

King-Shaw Resigns from CMS: Ruben King-Shaw, deputy administrator of the Baltimore-based Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, left the federal government April 9 to pursue a consulting career. “In order to meet my responsibilities to my family, to fulfill my duties as leader of the Bush administration’s health care tax strategies and to serve [President Bush] in other ways, it is necessary and appropriate that I relinquish my position as deputy administrator and chief operating officer of CMS,” he wrote to agency employees.

AAHomecare Hires New Communications Director: Laura Fisher is the new director of communications for the American Association for Homecare in Alexandria, Va. Previously, Fisher worked at Edelman Public Relations, where her main client was the American Health Care Association.

Reference

2003 Financial Performance Questionnaire is Available: The Alexandria, Va.-based American Association for Homecare has announced that its 2003 Financial Performance Survey questionnaire now is available at the association’s Web site, www.aahomecare.org/surveyform.htm. Survey participants should return the completed form by May 20, 2003. AAHomecare members who complete the questionnaire will receive a free copy of the final report, a company-specific analysis and an industry profitability report, the association said.

For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.