HHS to Dole Out Billions to State Medicaid Programs
Washington Less than one month ago, Congress set aside $10 billion to help struggling state governments pay for Medicaid programs whose costs were spiraling
Author
Brook Raflo
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JCAHO Posts Revised Standards
Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. After two years of review, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' Standards Review Project has published -
OIG: DME Supplies for Home Dialysis Cost Too Much
Washington Medicare could save millions if beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) used supplies from dialysis facilities rather than from durable -
Legislation & Regulation
Grassley’s DME Cuts Don’t Make the Cut
Washington Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has made no secret of the fact that rural health reimbursements are his top priority. Last month, he kept a promise to introduce legislation to help rural Medicare providers “at every opportunity.” But Grassley’s plan came at a cost — and, under the provisions of a recent amendment, the durable medical equipment industry was slated to bear some of that cost. Not waiting for a health-care-related bill to come along, Grassley added a $25 billion rural health care amendment to the Senate’s tax bill, and included two DME cuts to offset the expense. The first cut would freeze consumer-price-index increases for DME for 10 years. The second would reduce reimbursements for Medicare Part B drugs, from 95... -
Providers
AAHomecare Picks New President
Alexandria, Va. At Medtrade Spring last month, the American Association for Homecare announced that Kay Cox will replace Tom Connaughton as president of AAHomecare, effective June 1. Cox, who has more than 20 years of experience in the health care industry, most recently worked as vice president of the Washington office and political action committee of Beverly Enterprises, a $2.4 billion company that operates skilled nursing facilities nationwide. More information about Cox, and a message from Cox herself, appear in HomeCare‘s Medtrade Report, beginning on page 30. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry. -
Home Health
CDC: Home Care Helped Shorten Hospital Stays
Hyattsville, Md. Americans are spending less time in the hospital than ever before, and the home care industry is part of the reason, according to an April 9 report from the National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The average length of hospital stay for all ages declined steadily between 1970 and 2001, from 7.8 days to 4.9 days, according to the report, titled “2001 National Hospital Discharge Survey.” Among Americans age 65 and older, however, the decline was much more drastic — from 12.6 days in 1970 to fewer than six days in 2001. One reason for the decline was “greater development and coverage of post-acute care alternatives to hospitalization” — alternatives such as home... -
CMS/Medicare
Medicare Proposes Changes to Enrollment Policy
Baltimore To weed out unqualified Medicare providers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services April 25 proposed changes to the provider-enrollment policy. The new policy will be simpler and clearer, according to Tommy Thompson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Under the proposed policy, there would be a different provider-enrollment form for each provider group, instead of one generic form for all providers. CMS would deactivate any suppliers that did not bill Medicare for two consecutive quarters. Currently, CMS deactivates providers that have not billed Medicare for four consecutive quarters. Other proposed changes include a requirement that Medicare providers re-certify the accuracy of their enrollment information every three years; a requirement that applicants meet all federal, state and local licensure laws;... -
Local Coverage Policies Should End, GAO Says
Washington Local medical review policies create and the U.S. General Accounting Office concluded recently. In a May 12 report, titled Divided Authority -
Legislation & Regulation
Rotech Raid Sparks Speculation, Concern
Orlando, Fla. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation April 30 raided Rotech’s headquarters in Orlando, as well as company offices in Maine, New York, Arkansas and Illinois, according to WFTV, an Orlando television station. Approximately 50 agents took part in the Orlando raid, removing “boxes and boxes of documents,” WFTV reported. One day later, Rotech released a statement confirming the raids and explaining that the company does not know the reason for the investigation. “The company is cooperating fully with the investigation,” the statement said. “However, [Rotech] has not been informed by the government of the subject matter of the inquiry.” Federal investigations are not new for the HME giant. Last March, Rotech paid $17 million to settle allegations that, between 1995 and 2000,... -
Legislation & Regulation
New Budget, Old Debates
Washington Much to home care providers’ relief, the U.S. House and Senate last month passed a 2004 budget resolution that did not include cuts to Medicare or Medicaid. “The budget does not include a proposed $90 billion in Medicaid reductions,” said Seth Johnson, director of public policy for the Alexandria, Va.-based American Association for Homecare. “This is definitely good, compared to where we were a week and a half ago.” However, Johnson cautioned providers not to take too much comfort in the budget resolution. Even as they return home for a spring recess, lawmakers are writing legislation that could change the Medicare and Medicaid landscapes drastically, he said. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, cuts to Medicare and Medicaid were on the tips of many lawmakers’ tongues,...