industry

HME

  • VGM Heartland Attendees Tackle Industry Challenges

    More than 450 providers, 225 manufacturers and 50 speakers gathered in the heart of farm country June 1-4 to talk about doing more with less, increasing operational efficiencies and tackling Medicare reimbursement challenges. The VGM Group’s Heartland Conference in Waterloo, Iowa, included tracks focusing on HME, respiratory, rehab and technical training. On June 4, VGM hosted Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who played a key role in hammering out a Medicare reform compromise last year. “Much to my consternation, there were changes to the durable medical equipment program,” Grassley told an audience at a fund-raiser luncheon. “The House was determined to implement immediate competitive bidding across the board for DME.” Although the Senate ultimately lost the fight to keep competitive…
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  • COPD Caucus Needs Our Support

    In a recent New York Times article, health writer Jane Brody wrote, “Perhaps the most frightening symptom one can experience is being unable to inhale enough air to perform even the simplest activities, like walking from the bedroom to the bathroom or even talking. But that is the ultimate fate of millions of Americans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.” Added to the personal suffering are enormous health care and financial consequences of COPD, which are summarized in an American Association for Homecare white paper on the disease. The direct medical costs in the United States total $18 billion annually. Thankfully, Sen. Michael Crapo (R-Idaho) has launched the Congressional COPD Caucus to advocate policies that encourage prevention and detection of the disease. Co-chairs of the caucus…
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  • Latest HME News

  • Power Mobility: A Clinician’s View

    The Restore Access to Mobility Partnership (RAMP), a coalition working to ensure that all beneficiaries with medical need have access to mobility products, has been working with clinicians and consumers across the country to achieve this objective. This month, I’d like to take backstage and let one clinician explain her perspective on the current Medicare coverage policy for power wheelchairs. Susan Taylor is a clinician at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, one of the nation’s leading providers of specialized therapy services. She has spent more than 20 years working with consumers with disabilities. How do power wheelchairs help your patients? As an occupational therapist, I have seen wonderful changes after powered mobility has provided someone with independent mobility. I have worked with individuals of all…
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  • New Power Wheelchair Guidance Expected by Year’s End

    Washington What are the thresholds clinicians use to determine who qualifies for power mobility equipment and who doesn’t? That question was the subject of a special CMS Open Door Forum held in mid-June as part of the agency’s new three-pronged approach — including coverage, standards and coding — to restructuring Medicare’s power wheelchair benefit. At the forum, CMS introduced the Interagency Wheelchair Work Group, which, over the coming months, will create a framework for clinical coverage policy for power wheelchairs. The government group is made up of clinical experts from across the Department of Health and Human Services, including the National Institutes of Health, along with physicians and physical and occupational therapists from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Education. Sean Tunis, CMS’…
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  • Industry Reaction

    “The tenor of the hearing was not anti-[HME] industry. It was more anti-CMS than anything else, [with testimony describing] how they allowed this [power wheelchair] fraud and abuse to happen. The other good news is that what CMS announced … was very much in line with industry recommendations. They’re going to create more codes. It’s nice to have such recognition from the government.” — Cara Bachenheimer, vice president of government relations, Invacare Corp., Elyria, Ohio “My overall reaction is disappointment, but not surprise. I think we as an industry have a real PR issue that we need to address quickly. For the most part, the good suppliers are being painted with the same brush as those who were fraudulent. “I believe we need to work…
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  • CMS Introduces New Wheelchair Cushion Codes

    Baltimore Last month, CMS sent out a change-request transmittal to its contractors spelling out 20 new codes for wheelchair cushions — and eliminating, among others, the broad E0192 code. To become effective July 1, the new codes include cushion depth and height parameters, wheelchair cushions for general use, skin protection, positioning and seat backs, along with new codes for mounting hardware. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.
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  • New Products

    Omron Healthcare/Electronic Nebulizer NE-U22V MicroAir Call 800/231-4030. Web site: www.omronhealthcare.com Circle 481 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information Permobil/Power Wheelchair Street Call 800/736-0925. Web site: www.permobil.com Circle 491 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information Viasys Healthcare/CPAP Interface Lyra Call 800/231-2466. Web site: www.viasyshealthcare.com Circle 482 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information Avarius/Support Pillow SleepStreme Call 866/342-8151. Web site: www.sleepstreme.com Circle 493 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information Living Independently Group/Home Health Security System QuietCare Call 866/216-4600. Web site: www.kcsa.com Circle 500 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information Sroufe/Posterior Leg Splint 4000 Call 260/894-4171. Web site: www.sroufe.com Circle 497 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information LifeCare/Toilet Seat and Shower Chair EZ Up Chair Call 800/664-8342. Web site: www.lifecareusa.com Circle 486 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information…
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  • Bariatrics

    Big Boyz Industries/Bed Queen Pride 1000TC Convertible Call 877/574-3233. Web site: www.bariatricbeds.com Circle 450 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Amigo Mobility/Scooter HD450 Call 800/692-6446. Web site: www.myamigo.com Circle 447 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. James Consolidated/Turning Mattress Panda III Call 800/884-3317. Web site: www.volkner.com Circle 433 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Pride Mobility Products/Lift Chair GL-555 Call 800/800-8586. Web site: www.pridemobility.com Circle 444 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Altimate Medical/Heavy-Duty Stander EasyStand 5000 XL Call 800/342-8968. Web site: www.easystand.com Circle 436 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Drive Medical/Oversized Commode 11130-2 Call 877/224-0946. Web site: www.drivemedical.com Circle 437 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Invacare Corp./Power Wheelchair Pronto M94 Call 800/333-6900. Web site: www.invacare.com Circle 446 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company…
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  • Building a Business Niche by Niche

    Jack Palance had it right. In the 1991 comedy “City Slickers,” Palance slowly leaned over to Billy Crystal and divulged his secret to life: one thing. That may be the secret to business, too, at least for some providers. In the wake of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), HME owners are scrambling to optimize business plans and stay on track for long-term success. According to some industry experts, a good option may well lie in one thing — expanding your business to solve the problems of a specific customer group. In other words, your future could be hiding in one or more of HME’s niche markets. Specialty — or niche — business has a seductive sound, especially as the respiratory and mobility markets, long the…
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  • Respiratory Drug Access at Risk

    The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) mandated that respiratory providers no longer be reimbursed at a percentage of the average wholesale price (AWP) for respiratory medication. Instead, starting January 2005 Medicare will reimburse the drugs at the average sale price (ASP) plus 6 percent. While the MMA required the General Accounting Office (GAO) to determine whether current payment for inhalation therapies is adequate, the report will not be completed until late this year. As a result, we believe that there will not be adequate time for Congress to consider the GAO findings and take necessary actions to modify this provision before ASP reimbursement begins. The American Association for Homecare strongly believes that this level of reimbursement will fall short of covering operating and administrative costs associated…
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  • CMS Moves in the Right Direction

    The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its three-pronged initiative to address power wheelchair issues at the Senate Finance Committee’s April 28 hearing on Medicare coverage and payment for power wheelchairs. Overall, CMS’ initiative is a significant step in the right direction to address perceived and real issues in this area. There are, however, several recommendations to improve and refine CMS’ initiatives that will yield improved results. RAMP’s 10-Point Plan Consistent with CMS’ initiative, the industry coalition RAMP, the Restore Access to Mobility Partnership, has recommended a 10-point plan to help CMS fight fraud without harming the people who require power wheelchairs to increase their mobility. The coalition has developed this plan and is actively lobbying CMS and members of Congress for CMS…
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  • Keeping Eyes And Ears Open

    All home medical equipment companies brag and sell themselves on providing “quality services.” But do they really meet their claims? Quality is often the little things HME providers do that seem routine. Routine assessments of both the home environment and the patient’s use of equipment will not only assure quality patient services but may also reduce the company’s liability, should something go wrong. While such assessments can be used for all patients, they can be particularly helpful with patients undergoing various types of respiratory therapy. Each time a representative of your HME organization goes into a patient’s home, he or she should review both the environment and the patient for three important issues: Whether it’s on follow-up service visits or just during delivery of supplies,…
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