industry

HME

  • Standard Electronic Ordering on the Horizon

    Las Vegas In a meeting of the minds last month at Medtrade Spring, representatives from some of the home medical equipment industry’s largest manufacturers
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  • Scooters Gain Ground in Mobility Race

    Attention, everyone entrenched in the fierce debate over the finer points of scooter sales and production: Take note of the comeback scooters are making
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  • Latest HME News

  • Proceed with Caution

    The Office of Inspector General in April issued a Special Advisory Bulletin about joint-venture arrangements between mail-order pharmacies and home medical
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  • Grassley’s DME Cuts Don’t Make the Cut

    Washington Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has made no secret of the fact that rural health reimbursements are his top priority. Last month, he kept a promise to introduce legislation to help rural Medicare providers “at every opportunity.” But Grassley’s plan came at a cost — and, under the provisions of a recent amendment, the durable medical equipment industry was slated to bear some of that cost. Not waiting for a health-care-related bill to come along, Grassley added a $25 billion rural health care amendment to the Senate’s tax bill, and included two DME cuts to offset the expense. The first cut would freeze consumer-price-index increases for DME for 10 years. The second would reduce reimbursements for Medicare Part B drugs, from 95…
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  • AAHomecare Meets with Key Policy Advisors

    Washington One way to influence Congress’ decisions is to convince the policy advisors who provide data to lawmakers. Following this model, the American Association for Homecare last month intensified its lobbying efforts, meeting with representatives from both the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission and the U.S. General Accounting Office, to discuss drug pricing and national competitive bidding for durable medical equipment. AAHomecare first met with representatives from the GAO, the government office in charge of evaluating the success of Medicare’s two DME competitive bidding demonstrations. Representing the Coalition for Access to Medical Services, Equipment and Technology, AAHomecare and several consumer advocates told the GAO that competitive bidding is not good for providers, manufacturers or consumers. “I think we demonstrated to the GAO how complex this issue…
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  • AAHomecare Task Force Submits Code Applications to CMS

    Alexandria, Va. In its ongoing effort to clarify and expand Medicare’s and Medicaid’s coding system for rehab and assistive technology products, AAHomecare’s Re/hab and Assistive Technology Council Coding Task Force last month submitted more than 20 code applications to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The task force, which consists of rehab suppliers and manufacturers, has worked for more than two years to develop consensus proposals for codes in the categories of alternative positioning, ambulatory products, bath safety, configured seating, manual wheelchairs and wheelchair accessories. Its mission —” to identify coding deficiencies in the current Medicare [HCFA Common Procedure Coding System] with respect to rehab products” — is critical in light of upcoming regulatory deadlines, AAHomecare said. “All private and public payers must use…
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  • Tools of the Trade

    When it comes to building a home medical equipment business, it pays to have the right tools. No, we’re not talking wheelchairs and oxygen concentrators here — we’re talking about financing and protecting your company as it grows. The choices HME providers make in obtaining loans, leasing equipment and taking out insurance can help construct a firm business foundation — one that experts say can be the difference between success and failure. But understanding your options in these areas can be complicated and confusing. What, for example, is the best way to fund expansion? When should a provider lease equipment? Which insurance coverage is must-have and what is optional? For answers to these and other questions, HomeCare sought advice from industry professionals and successful providers….
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  • No Question

    Last year, I was attending a national meeting when, during a question and answer period, a gentleman from the audience asked, “If I pay my state association dues and I pay my national association dues, why do I have to write letters and make phone calls?” At first, I was taken aback by what I thought was a question with such an obvious answer. After all, I had just completed two years as vice president of the Florida Association of Medical Equipment Services and was finishing up my first year as president. And here was this man asking, essentially, what have these associations done for me? To me, the answer was clear. Associations offer support, advocacy, and in some cases, protection for their members. Such…
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  • Going, Going Here to Stay

    The market for respiratory products is seeing renewed interest from home medical equipment providers. New high-tech, streamlined products designed to improve patients’ health and providers’ bottom lines are changing the way the industry views respiratory care. Experts say the fastest-growing segment in the category is the sleep market. John Frank, vice president of marketing for Respironics’ homecare division, says the market for products designed to treat obstructive sleep apnea is growing from 18 to 20 percent a year, exceeding growth in the oxygen market by more than 10 percent. “Over 15 million people in the United States have some form of a sleep disorder, and when you look at the number of people treated, which is only 10 to 15 percent, there is a very…
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  • Manual Wheelchairs

    Sunrise/Manual Wheelchair Quickie Ti Titanium Call 888/333-2572. Web site: www.sunrisemedical.com Circle 425 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Wheelchairs of Kansas/Manual Wheelchair BCW Advantage Call 800/537-6454. Web site: www.wheelchairsofkansas.com Circle 433 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Essential Medical Supply/Manual Wheelchair Ultimate Heavy Duty Transport Chair Call 800/826-8423. Web site: www.essentialmedicalsupply.com Circle 428 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Tuffcare/Manual Wheelchair Venture Dual Axle Model 287 Call 954/977-4450. Web site: www.tuffcare.com Circle 430 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. TiSport/Manual Wheelchair TiLite Evo Call 800/545-2266. Web site: www.tisport.net Circle 427 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. Convaid/Manual Wheelchair Rodeo Tilt-in-Space Call 888/266-8243. Web site: www.convaid.com Circle 431 or visit www.homecaremag.com for company information. ConvaQuip/Manual Wheelchair Model 900XL Series Call 800/637-8436. Web site: www.convaquip.com Circle 424…
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  • You Should Be Committed

    It always rewards me to hear from home medical equipment providers — the conversations are great. These entrepreneurs are always filled with unique ideas about ways they plan to improve their businesses and increase their profits. They tell me how they will remodel and change their showrooms. I applaud their efforts and always encourage these providers to follow through on their ideas. But, when I ask the same providers a few weeks later how they are progressing with their plans, too often I hear something like this: “Well, Shelly, you know how busy we are and I just never got around to it.” This does not sit well with me. Why? These providers did not make a commitment to themselves to follow through on good…
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  • Congressional Outlook

    Against the backdrop of war, Congress is trying to go about its regular business. At this writing, both houses are working to pass budget resolutions for 2004. Fortunately, the House of Representatives’ budget resolution, which originally called for severe cuts in Medicare, has been modified so that Medicare is protected. This favorable change came about as a result of the strident protests of health care providers and suppliers, including the American Association for Homecare and its members. Although the nearly evenly divided Senate just passed a budget resolution, whether that resolution can be reconciled successfully with the House version is questionable. However, whether or not a budget resolution is finally enacted, and no matter what that resolution contains, we can expect Congress to attempt to…
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