Provider NewsWire

Conferences

VGM’s Heartland Conference Includes Call to Action: The population of Waterloo, Iowa, increased by 668 May 28-31, as attendees of The Heartland Conference filled the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in organizer The VGM Group’s hometown. The buying group’s members shopped for products from more than 70 exhibitors on the show floor, and shared insights on current issues surrounding the home medical equipment industry.

In addition to HME/respiratory, rehab and products/technology tracks, the schedule included a legal liability mock trial and an all-day “billing boot camp.” The conference ended with comments from Rep. Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, chairman of the House Budget Committee and a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, who said Congress is facing a “huge challenge” and needs help in its debate on Medicare legislation. He urged attendees to “get involved and get active.”

Northwood Meeting Focuses on NCB: A May 29 meeting sponsored by the Lansing, Mich.-based provider network Northwood, offered attendees information about the possibility of a national competitive bidding policy. According to attendee Sheldon “Shelly” Prial, a partner with HPS Healthcare Management and a columnist for HomeCare, Northwood President Kenneth Fasse said that information about the threat of NCB needed to be provided, so that HME dealers could know how to respond. Meeting presenters included Mark Wynn, senior research analyst for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and Cara C. Bachenheimer, an attorney with the Washington law firm of Epstein, Becker & Green, who specializes in health care legislation, regulations and government relations.

Legislative

Florida Requires Public Posting of AWP: Effective July 1, a new Florida law will require the state’s Agency for Healthcare Administration to post on the agency’s Web site the average wholesale prices of prescription drugs provided through the Florida Medicaid program. S.B. 320 mandates that the AHCA publish “the most recent average wholesale prices for the 200 drugs most frequently dispensed to the elderly, and … provide a mechanism that consumers may use to calculate the retail price that should be paid” for the drugs. The law also requires the AHCA to submit, by Jan. 4, 2004, a report that demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of, and alternatives to, the AWP reimbursement system for Medicaid prescription drugs. More information is available at the AHCA’s Web site, www.fdhc.state.fl.us.

Noteworthy

O2 Science Expands, Sells California Branches: To expand its service beyond the southwestern and central United States, O2 Science of Tempe, Ariz., has acquired Respicare, a Fife, Wash.-based provider of respiratory therapy services and medications.

In other O2 News, the company June 16 announced its decision to sell all of its California branches to Apria Healthcare Group of Lake Forest, Calif.

GAO Finds Problems with VA Home Care: In a May 22 report, the U.S. General Accounting Office cited several shortcomings in the home-based care of military veterans.

Of the Veterans Affairs Department’s 139 facilities, 126 did not offer six key services, several of which affect the quality of home care. Almost 100 of the 139 locations did not offer respite care, and seven facilities did not provide patients with skilled home health care. These numbers are more worrisome, the GAO said, “because even when facilities offer these services, they often do so in only part of the geographic area they serve.”

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