Author

HomeCare Staff

HomeCare staff Meg Herndon and Hannah Wolfson were joined by writers Kristin Easterling and Gail Short to tell these stories. Tamara Davie’s photo on page 32 was taken by Ursula Hope Photography.

  • CMS/Medicare

    CMS Considers Home Sleep Testing Coverage

    Baltimore CMS is reviewing its national coverage of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) requiring continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Current policy requires a sleep test, or polysomnography, to be performed in a facility-based sleep-study laboratory, but the agency is considering changes to accept the use of portable multi-channel home sleep test devices. According to Dr. Terence Davidson of the University of California San Diego, sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) “is grossly under-diagnosed in large part due to a limited number of sleep diagnostic facilities.” Davidson submitted a letter to CMS requesting the policy change. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.

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  • Legislation & Regulation

    Supplier Number Scheme Hits Florida

    Miami A new kind of DME fraud scheme has hit the Sunshine State that may turn innocent providers into unwitting participants. The Florida Association of Medical Equipment Services (FAMES) sent out a statewide alert to members last month warning providers of individuals who offer large cash sums to buy small HME businesses — and their provider numbers. In the contract, the buyers require providers to keep their supplier numbers open for a period of time after the transaction, during which — unknown to the seller — the buyers fraudulently bill Medicare with the “bought” supplier number. Once they bill a certain amount, they close the business. “This is a very fast scam. The buyers continue to bill under the seller’s provider number, [then get out]....

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  • Legislation & Regulation

    NSC Extends Compliance Window

    Columbia, S.C. Following a mid-April advisory board meeting with DME industry representatives, the NSC said it will, in certain instances, give providers an additional 21 days to prove compliance before beginning supplier-number revocation actions. “All [21 supplier] standards are important. It is the responsibility of suppliers to be in compliance with each one of these standards at all times,” the NSC said in a statement. “However, there are circumstances where it may be appropriate to develop … more information before action is taken. All circumstances will be taken into consideration to determine whether or not additional development is warranted. The intent of this is to ensure the NSC has gathered all pertinent data and the supplier has had sufficient opportunity to provide evidence of compliance.”...

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  • CMS/Medicare

    GAO Recommends Clarification of Medicare Supplier Standards

    Washington Fraudulent DME suppliers should not be able to enter the Medicare business in the first place, and vague supplier standards are partly to blame. So said the General Accounting Office’s (GAO) Leslie Aronovitz, director of health care program administration and integrity issues, in testimony at a late April Senate Finance Committee hearing on power wheelchair fraud and abuse. “The standards NSC uses to evaluate suppliers are not explicit,” Aronovitz said. “Officials at CMS and NSC told us that some of Medicare’s supplier standards lack specificity as criteria for NSC to use in determining the legitimacy of a supplier.” For example, Standard No. 4 requires that a supplier “fills orders, fabricates, or fits items from its own inventory or by contracting with other companies for...

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  • Legislation & Regulation

    Bush Calls for Electronic Medical Records for Every American

    Minneapolis During an April 26 speech promoting innovation, President Bush set a goal that in 10 years every American should have an electronic medical record. The goal follows a call for computerization of health care records in his Jan. 20 State of the Union address. In a speech at the American Association of Community Colleges’ annual convention in Minneapolis, the president also announced the creation of a sub-Cabinet-level position for a “national health information technology coordinator” who will report directly to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The new coordinator will foster partnerships between the public and private sectors to speed information technology (IT) into the health care market. The announcement comes after the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee (PITAC) released a draft report...

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  • Providers

    Texas Providers Form Rehab Council

    Houston A group of Texas businesses and disability advocates have formed the Greater Texas Rehab Provider’s Council (TXRPC). Spurred by potential budget cuts in Medicaid and Medicare funding, TXPC will create “an open forum for consumers, equipment providers and manufacturers” to provide a collective voice in legislative, budget and agency issues, the organization announced. “The need for a Texas forum has never been greater,” said Ron Kieschnik, TXRPC president and president of Houston-based Seating Profiles. “Statewide issues such as the reorganization of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the transition to a new claims-processing agent for the Texas Medicaid program and the implementation of the new HIPAA standardized billing codes present unique challenges.” Besides Kieschnik, founding council members include Chris Yule, president and CEO...

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  • Operations

    Georgia Payment Problems Ongoing

    Atlanta Soon after Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Systems (ACS) took over HIPAA-compliant electronic processing of Georgia Medicaid claims last year, massive payment processing difficulties ensued — and today the problem still isn’t resolved, according to the Georgia Association of Medical Equipment Services (GAMES). Since last April, Medicaid reimbursements have followed a complicated prospective payment system, said Jason Rogers, GAMES president and vice president of Athens, Ga.-based Care Medical. ACS paid providers a weekly amount based on an average of payments they received during the 12 weeks before April 1, 2003. Earlier this year, the state “stopped paying the prospective payments despite [the fact that current] claim payments were not up [to] previous levels,” Rogers said. He said the state is now withholding half the amount of...

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  • HME Products

    New Products

    Turbo Wheelchair/Manual Wheelchair Merlexi Craft Call 800/959-4765. Web site: www.merlexi.com Circle 493 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information Evolution Technologies/Walker Horizon DX Call 800/556-2558. Web site: www.evolution.ca Circle 488 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information Consumer Care Products/Positioning Aid Functional Form 107 Side Layers Call 920/893-4614. Web site: www.consumercareinc.com Circle 439 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Bed-Check Corp./Bed Monitor Basic-Check and Classic-Check Call 800/523-7956. Web site: www.bedcheck.com Circle 441 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Quantum Rehab/Wheelchair Power Positioning System Tru Balance Call 800/800-8586. Web site: www.quantumrehab.com Circle 483 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. A&D Medical/Blood Pressure Monitor LifeSource UA-767PC Call 888/726-9966. Web site: www.lifesourceonline.com Circle 498 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information Amoena/Post-Surgery Camisol Style 2105 Call 800/726-6362. Web site: www.us.amoena.com Circle...

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  • HME Products

    Beds & Support Surfaces

    Invacare Corp./Home Care Bed IVC Call 800/333-6900. Web site: www.invacare.com Circle 448 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. The Roho Group/Mattress Overlay HybridSelect Call 800/851-3449. Web site: www.therohogroup.com Circle 445 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Leisure-Lift/Bariatric Bed Advanced Ultima Call 800/255-0285. Web site: www.pacesaver.com Circle 447 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Sunrise Medical/Home Care Bed Guardian Call 800/333-4000. Web site: www.sunrisemedical.com Circle 434 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Plexus Medical-Gaymar/Mattress System Auto Aire Select Call 800/828-7341. Web site: www.gaymar.com Circle 449 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. SenTech Medical Systems/Mattress Replacement System Stage IV Millennium 3 Call 800/474-4225. Web site: www.sentechmedical.com Circle 433 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Drive Medical/Semi-Electric Bed Ultra-Light Plus Call 877/224-0946. Web site: www.drivemedical.com Circle 450 or...

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