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.

  • Providers

    HME Providers Move into Wal-Mart

    On March 17, Lake Forest, Calif.-based Apria Healthcare opened a pilot store inside a Duncanville (Dallas), Texas, Wal-Mart. The Scooter Store, New Braunfels, Texas, is running branches in Wal-Marts in Montgomery, Ala.; Daytona Beach and Pensacola, Fla.; Hendersonville, N.C.; and Fort Worth, Texas. Salem, Mass., provider Hutchinson Medical has opened two branches inside Wal-Marts in Epping, N.H., and Waterford, Conn. And Lawrenceville, Ga.-headquartered National Vision Inc., which operates 400 eye care centers in Wal-Mart stores in the United States and Mexico, will open one or more HME test stores inside the world’s largest retailer in the second quarter. All of these companies hope to capitalize on Wal-Mart’s astronomical foot traffic. Worldwide, more than 138 million customers walk into the mass merchandiser every week. Its U.S....

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  • Aging in Place

    Lieber Joins HomeCare’s Editorial Advisory Board

    Atlanta HomeCare has announced that Miriam Lieber has joined its Editorial Advisory Board. Lieber, an operations management consultant and president of Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based Lieber Consulting, has more than 20 years’ experience in HME and has been a columnist for HomeCare for the past year (see page 94). “As a consultant to home medical equipment providers across the country, Lieber will add to the depth of the magazine’s coverage at a time when providers are looking to streamline their business operations,” said Gail Walker, HomeCare editor-in-chief. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.

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  • HME Products

    ADLs, Ambulatory Aids & Bath Safety

    Seabridge/Walk-in Bath Classic Call 800/330-3317. Web site: www.seabridgebathing.com Circle 435 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Eagle Health Supplies/Sliding Transfer Bench Snap-N-Save Call 800/755-8999. Web site: www.eaglehealth.com Circle 443 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Clarke Health Care Products/Walker Dolomite Melody Call 888/347-4537. Web site: www.clarkehealthcare.com Circle 444 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. LifeCare/Commode and Transporter Chair All-in-One Call 800/664-8342. Web site: www.lifecareusa.com Circle 434 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Nova Ortho-Med/Walker Cruiser De-Light Call 800/557-6682. Web site: www.novaorthomed.com Circle 438 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Invacare Corporation/Rehab Shower and Commode Chair Mariner Call 800/333-6900. Web site: www.invacare.com Circle 440 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Sunrise Medical/Bariatric Transfer Bench Guardian Plus Call 800/333-4000. Web site: www.sunrisemedical.com Circle 450 or visit www.homecaremag.com...

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  • Providers

    Medtrade Spring Planner

    In the spring, the HME industry’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of … Vegas, baby! Medtrade Spring 2004 gets under way March 16-18, with a host of products you need to see and information you need to know to sail your business safely through challenging times. The expo and buying event offers 75 educational sessions and 450 exhibitors at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show provides an informal opportunity to connect with HME peers and learn the tools necessary to survive the imminent changes brought on by recent Medicare legislation. But Medtrade isn’t all business. On the following pages, you’ll find important schedules and hip post-show activities to help cool your heels after a long day on the show floor. Monorail Step outside the...

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  • Books and Beyond

    Alternatives in Motion is part of Tap Shoe Productions, named thus because, Johnnie Tuitel claims, the only thing he can't do is tap dance. The company

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  • Legislation & Regulation

    Letters to the Editor

    No Tears Here We in the industry do not cry crocodile tears over The Scooter Store’s lamentations (“Scooter Store Lays Off 200,” February 2003). I am sure that the store’s ads have been in no small part responsible for Medicare’s increased scrutiny of power wheelchair claims. The Scooter Store has predicated its business model on the fact that Medicare has not been aggressively auditing providers of power mobility products. Many of us in the industry have been well aware of both Medicare’s regulations regarding the ambulatory status issue and the fact that, quite frankly, many claims for these items have been improperly paid due to “holes” in the DMERCs’ edit/audit systems. When you use phrases such as “we guarantee Medicare coverage, or you pay nothing,”...

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  • MOBILITY PRODUCT GALLERY

    Essential Medical Supply/Four-Wheel Aluminum Walker Blazer features loop hand brakes and 8-inch, flat-free tires tray and basket included height-adjustable

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  • CMS/Medicare

    Bush Taps FDA Chief to Head CMS

    Washington President Bush says he will nominate Mark McClellan as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If confirmed, McClellan will oversee the rollout of Medicare’s massive overhaul, set in motion by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003. His brother, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, announced the nomination. Currently commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Mark McClellan has served as a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Previously, he worked at Stanford University as an associate professor and director of the Program on Health Outcomes Research, and was also an attending physician for internal medicine at Stanford Health Services. Before taking the helm at CMS, McClellan must be confirmed by the Senate...

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  • Legislation & Regulation

    Texas Dj Vu: Another Big Power Wheelchair Scam

    Dallas News of power wheelchair fraud returned to the Lone Star State in February when 11 Dallas-area residents, including DME dealers and a physician, were arrested in a multi-million-dollar Medicare billing scheme. Unsealed Feb. 5 by the U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of Texas, indictments allege that the defendants submitted fraudulent claims for reimbursement of power wheelchairs and diverted the funds they received from Medicare for personal use. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said billings in the schemes were in excess of $36 million, with more than $15 million paid out by Medicare to the defendants. According to the indictments, older individuals were often approached by recruiters who offered them free scooters in exchange for their Medicare information, which was then...

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