industry

HME

  • With Service and Sensitivity

    Manufacturers of post-mastectomy products and breastfeeding supplies have raised the bar this year by improving comfort, durability and efficiency all
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  • Editor’s Inbox

    Editor’s Note: The recent federal crackdown on power wheelchair fraud sparked an outpouring of response from many HomeCare readers. The following letters represent two perspectives on the issue. Discovery of Fraud and Abuse an Achievement, Not an Embarrassment In your Aug. 25 article (“PMC Commends Fraud Crackdown,” HomeCare Monday), the opening paragraph included the phrase “threatened to tarnish the HME industry’s reputation at this critical juncture.” This [phrase] absolutely drives me crazy! It is well known that fraud and abuse related to [power] wheelchairs and scooters is rampant in our industry. The problem is that we are not tough enough to police ourselves. The fact that we have to kowtow to legislative efforts to rein in Med i-care costs at this time by making concessions…
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  • Latest HME News

  • Medicare Proposes Four Ways to Cut AWP

    Baltimore It is no longer a matter of if, but when and how, the average wholesale price system for reimbursing Medicare Part B drugs will change. The
    Read More →: Medicare Proposes Four Ways to Cut AWP

  • BLACKOUT

    After the lights went out, Marty Maduro, a Medigas customer service representative in Newmarket, Ontario, rigged his location’s phone system to run off his car battery. “This enabled us to keep an open dialogue with our clients and continue to call everyone on our disaster list,” says George Ristevski, president of Medigas parent Praxair Healthcare Services, based in Danbury, Conn. After the lights went out, Rochelle Arini-Monza, an Apria Healthcare branch manager in Troy, Mich., worked from her car and took orders by candlelight so drivers could be dispatched. Ryder Trucks faxed a list of fuel locations and set up a special account for the company’s Michigan branches in case gas was needed. After the lights went out, Zeb Pirzada, CEO of Medstar Surgical in…
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  • State News

    Legislation Competitive Bidding Arises in Florida Budget: Florida’s Medicaid agency, the Agency for Health Care Administration, has a budget calling for
    Read More →: State News

  • Q & A With Tom Scully

    He’s Medicare’s defender and its toughest critic. He roots for beneficiaries but works to contain costs. He wants to stop fraud. He would like to see
    Read More →: Q & A With Tom Scully

  • Battling Lethargy

    Apathetic,” “sluggish,” “dull,” “listless,” “unenergetic” — these all are terms that describe lethargy. When I look at many dealers from my ivory tower in Florida, I see another definition for lethargy. What I see are dealers sitting back on their derrieres, complaining about how their businesses may be affected by pending legislation and waiting for someone else to tie the bell on the cat. There is no one else! If you are not willing to work and fight to protect your company, then either close it or sell it. What triggered this diatribe were several calls I received recently from DME dealers, two of whom I did not know. The calls were about the prescription plans being proposed and the changes anticipated in Medicare reimbursements….
    Read More →: Battling Lethargy

  • Leading the Charge

    “Here in Washington, we encourage everyone to speak with one voice by ensuring all of our efforts are focused on one message,” according to Kay Cox, president of the Alexandria, Va.-based American Association for Homecare. And, she says, she intends for that home care message to be heard. Immediately after stepping into her new role on June 1, Cox was faced with leading the charge against proposed Medicare reform measures — competitive bidding, copayment of the home health benefit — that she labels as “very harmful to home care patients and providers.” Though at press time the legislation was stalled in conference committee, the association continues to press the home care cause with a concerted national lobbying effort and a companion grassroots campaign. Cox has…
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  • Provider Scanning Events Promote Custom Breast Prosthetic

    As founder of the Facial Restoration Center at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, ocularist L. Daniel Eaton works with patients who have been disfigured by disease or trauma. For these people, the lifelike facial prostheses Eaton creates — noses, eyes, eyelids with lashes, skin — often not only restore their appearance but also give back their self-esteem and strengthen their emotional health. One such patient, who was also a breast cancer survivor, asked Eaton why doctors couldn’t work the same way to craft a post-mastectomy prosthesis. Her question led to a decade of conversations and input from other survivors, and resulted in Eaton’s development of a lightweight custom breast prosthesis. “Our initial research started with survivors,” Eaton says, noting that ContourMed, the company…
    Read More →: Provider Scanning Events Promote Custom Breast Prosthetic

  • Rise & Shine with HomeCare

    Beginning the show each morning of Medtrade 2003, HomeCare magazine will sponsor an opening session designed to get your day going with a focus on the future. These information-packed daily seminars will spotlight legislative issues, business forecasting and strategies for professional achievement that will keep you informed, get you prepared and move you toward success in home health care’s changing landscape. First up on Thursday, Oct. 9, the American Association for Homecare will present its “Washington Update,” where you will learn about the association’s fight against competitive bidding and other reimbursement-reducing legislation currently facing the industry. Never before has it been so important to understand how decisions in Washington can affect your company. Hear first-hand what issues are being discussed, what they mean for you,…
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  • Take Your Seat

    Past the opportunity to see 250,000 home medical products and visit with 1,000 manufacturers, distributors and service companies on the exhibit floor, Medtrade 2003 also offers an educational program encompassing specialty training events and a full conference schedule. More than 180 sessions will cover business and industry topics in 11 different tracks, including: accreditation; business operations/customer service; home health/clinical; information technology; legal/legislative; pharmacy; profesional motivation; re/habilitation and assistive technology; reimbursement; respiratory; and sales and marketing. So sharpen your pencils and take notes, because class is officially in session. Check for last-minute additions, special sessions and events or time changes so you won’t miss a thing! Thursday, October 9 [7:30 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.] Opening Session AAHomecare’s “Washington Update” [8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.] Benchmarking HME…
    Read More →: Take Your Seat

  • Feds Crack Down on Power Wheelchair Fraud

    Washington and Baltimore On Sept. 9, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services took drastic action to clean up billing fraud in the durable medical
    Read More →: Feds Crack Down on Power Wheelchair Fraud

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