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

    Former Apria Exec Joins Respiratory Products Firm

    Santa Barbara, Calif. Robert Fary, former director of respiratory services for Lake Forest, Calif.-based Apria Healthcare, has been named vice president of sales at Inogen, a respiratory products manufacturer that debuted its new oxygen concentration device, the Inogen One, at Medtrade in October. “The Inogen One is really a new category of oxygen device that is designed to be one solution for oxygen patients and providers. It is designed to take care of all oxygen needs by functioning as a stationary and portable [device] at the same time,” said Byron Myers, Inogen founder and product manager. While awaiting final clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Myers said the company is gearing up for manufacturing in anticipation of shipment in mid-2004. “Every so often...

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  • Providers

    HealthSouth to Assess Hoveround Client Mobility

    Sarasota, Fla. Power mobility equipment manufacturer Hoveround has entered into an exclusive national agreement with Birmingham, Ala.-based HealthSouth, in which HealthSouth’s outpatient rehab centers will perform mobility assessment evaluations on Hoveround’s clients. The evaluations will “ensure that each client’s functional level is compliant with medical guidelines” and will be performed by licensed physical or occupational therapists, Hoveround said. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.

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  • CMS/Medicare

    CMS Finalizes Medicare Beneficiary Appeals Process

    Baltimore The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published a final rule establishing a process for beneficiaries to appeal local or national Medicare coverage determinations, along with independent review of these coverage policies. Under the final rule, CMS said that appeals of local coverage determinations (LCD) would be reviewed initially by an administrative law judge. Appeals from national coverage determinations (NCDs) and from a judge’s decision on LCDs would be reviewed by the Health and Human Services Departmental Appeals Board. The Board’s decisions could be appealed to federal court. This rule represents the final step toward formal implementation of several appeals-related provisions of the Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000, CMS explained. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of...

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  • Legislation & Regulation

    AAHomecare Responds to National Wheeler Dealer Article

    Alexandria, Va. The American Association for Homecare reiterated its opinion that there should be “zero tolerance” for Medicare fraud and abuse involving power wheelchairs, in response to a Nov. 12 Associated Press news article that detailed 50 separate power wheelchair fraud investigations launched as part of the government crackdown known as “Operation Wheeler Dealer.” The AP article noted that the durable medical equipment industry aggressively markets power wheelchairs, adding that the number of Medicare power wheelchair claims rose from about 55,000 in 1999 to almost 170,000 this year. In response, AAHomecare said it views the increase in claims as a positive development. “As wheelchair technology has improved and the beneficiary population has aged, this increase is a clear sign that more and more Americans are...

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  • Providers

    HDI Forms Co-Brand Alliance with Invacare Supply Group

    Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Home Diagnostics, Inc., a manufacturer of blood glucose monitoring systems, has entered into a distribution partnership with Invacare Supply Group, a subsidiary of Elyria, Ohio-based Invacare. Invacare Supply Group will co-brand, market and distribute HDI’s Prestige IQ Smart System under the Invacare Quality Alternatives line of products. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.

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  • Providers

    Golden Technologies Awarded VA Scooter Contract

    Old Forge, Pa. Golden Technologies has been awarded a one-year contract with the U.S. Veterans Administration, which will purchase small and full-sized, three-wheel scooters for VA medical centers nationwide. According to Golden, the contract award could increase production of the company’s Companion I and Companion II three-wheel scooters by up to 9,000 units per year, generating about $40 million in revenue over the next five years For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.

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  • Providers

    Letters to the Editor

    Let the Rat Out of the Bag I am offended by [CMS Administrator Tom Scully’s] statement about pressuring the good guys to “rat” out the bad guys (“Q&A with Tom Scully,” HomeCare, October 2003). The good guys have been informing his office for months to years … about the situation in the Houston area. These complaints appear to have fallen on deaf ears until now. The squeeze they are putting on the good guys appears to be an attempt to reduce numbers in the Houston area instead of cleaning up the fraud and abuse. It really appears they do not want the real “rat” out of the bag. If they were “letting checks fly out the window,” with all the complaints from us and other...

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  • CMS/Medicare

    On the Web

    CMS Launches Home Health Compare Baltimore In November, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched Home Health Compare, a database for beneficiaries featuring home health agency scores on 11 outcome measures, including, among others, dressing and bathing. CMS, which plans to update the database quarterly, compiled the data over a 12-month period ending in May of this year. For more, visit www.medicare.gov and click on “Home Health Compare.” KFF Posts Medicaid Information Washington The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit health care research organization, has developed an online database about Medicaid benefits in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. territories. The database, available at www.kff.org, includes information about the benefits covered by each state and payment rules, and is searchable by...

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  • Providers

    Drive Medical to Acquire Dr. K International

    Port Washington, N.Y. Drive Medical has agreed to acquire Los Angeles manufacturer Dr. K International Trading Co. This acquisition represents the fourth over the past two years. The company’s President and CEO Harvey Diamond said the acquisition “will enhance our presence throughout the United States by providing greater distribution capabilities on the West Coast, and a complementary product line to our existing product offering.” Drive will continue to manufacture the existing product lines for both companies, including wheelchairs, hospital beds, bath safety products, ambulatory aids, respiratory equipment and electrotherapy products. Dr. K principals Ara Karamanoukian and Michael Serhan will join Drive’s executive management team. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.

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  • Providers

    Computers Unlimited Celebrates 25 Years

    Billings, Mont. Computers Unlimited is celebrating its twenty-fifth year of business. The HME software company employs 150 people and serves clients in 45 states as well as in Mexico, Canada and Puerto Rico. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.

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