May 2011

CMS will hold its 16th education call on implementation of HIPAA Version 5010 and D.0 transaction standards on Wednesday, May 25.
Industry consultant Andrea Stark of MiraVista LLC offers a clear explanation of how CMS' new reasonable useful lifetime (RUL) policy for stationary and portable oxygen equipment affects HME suppliers.
The widespread prepay probe reviews of claims includes K0001 (standard wheelchair), K0003 (lightweight wheelchair) and K0004 (high strength lightweight wheelchair).

HME providers toiling in the school of hard knocks know mistakes happen, and they can be costly.
Various HME products, including: VMI's Fiorella Platform Lift; ResMed's S9 VPAP Series; ActiveCare Medical's Cobalt X23; Lavin Lift's Lift Strap; Sky Med's SureStep Tip; Left Coast Sports' Grip-n-Assist; and more.
Bariatrics is a big growth market, but you've got to know — and show — the products.

Seating and positioning, including: Invacare's Matrx Personal Back 10; Blue Chip Medical Products' Chair-Air 9700CAF; Aquila Corp.'s Airpulse PK; Karman Healthcare's Ergo Fit; and more.
Here's what a sample of providers attending the annual conference and expo had to say.
Have you tried to call the 1-800-Medicare line lately? VGM's John Gallagher has, and he didn't get very far. In fact, he said of several attempts to register a complaint, calling in is a frustrating and time-consuming dead end.

The A6243 — hydrogel dressing, wound cover, sterile pad, each — has an overall denial percentage of 19.4.
When Chris Kinard asked Medtrade Spring attendees to describe the HME industry's current condition in one word, some of the responses he got were "catastrophe," "chaos," "uncertainty," "change" and "craziness."
You are not in business to break even; you are in business to make a profit.