The DME MAC medical directors have posted an update to the PAP LCD with major requirements for coverage of a PAP device for OSA that pertain to the ordering physician. Read the complete update on the Jurisdiction C (Cigna) Web site, along with FAQs from physicians and providers.
Registration has opened for Medtrade Spring, and producer Nielsen Business Media is offering a special $99 rate for the mid-year show's educational conference. With more than 70 sessions, the comprehensive conference, which is coordinated through the American Association for Homecare and the Medtrade Educational Advisory Board, will run March 24-26, 2009, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information, visit www.medtrade.com.
Spearheaded by the National Spinal Cord Injury Association and Elyria, Ohio-based Invacare, a coalition of consumer and provider groups is working to develop a consumer-driven survey that will demonstrate the medical need for high-end complex rehab to Washington legislators and regulators. In addition to HME organizations AAHomecare, The Roho Group and Sunrise Medical, other participating groups include the United Spinal Association, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, United Cerebral Palsy, the National Coalition on Disability Rights and the Paralyzed Veterans of America. AAHomecare reported last week the coalition is finalizing a 15-question survey to collect data in support of efforts to improve consumer access to complex rehab. Further information will be available soon, the association said.
National Government Services Common Electronic Data Interchange has updated the Approved Vendor List and a list of FAQs on the CEDI Web site, available on its Resource Materials page.
Have you checked your mail? As part of CMS' fourth annual contractor satisfaction survey, 30,000 randomly selected providers received the 2009 Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey (MCPSS) on which they can offer opinions on their Medicare Administrative Contractors. The MACs will be measured against performance targets as part of their contract requirements, CMS said. To meet the performance standard, the contractor's score for the 2009 MCPSS must fall within a specified range of the 2008 national mean score. 2008's survey results for all contractors, including the DME MACs, was 4.51 on a scale of 1-6.
Brightree, the Duluth, Ga.-based software provider, announced last week it has acquired C&S Billing Center , an HME billing service in Antioch, Ill. The acquisition pairs Brightree's Internet-hosted SaaS (Software as a Service) business management application with integrated billing services from C&S. "This new bundled offering will make the old billing services model obsolete," said Dave Cormack, Brightree president and CEO, in a press release. "No longer will providers need to fax tons of paper, re-key the same data into multiple systems or be kept in the dark regarding what has been billed, rejected or paid." In addition to the technology/service offering, Brightree plans to utilize the C&S billing expertise to offer "best practices" consulting services to customers.
Philips has expanded its Home Healthcare Solutions business with acquisition of the aerosol therapy business of Medel SpA, an Italian distributor of nebulizer compressor systems and other home health products. In a related transaction, the company also acquired a manufacturing facility in Guandong, China, for nebulizer compressor systems and operations in Hong Kong. The businesses have become part of the Respiratory Drug Delivery, or RDD, business unit within Philips Home Healthcare Solutions, now headquartered in Murrysville, Pa. "When Philips acquired Respironics, the company also had a leading respiratory drug delivery business," CEO Don Spence said in a release. "Building upon that strength and fulfilling on our ambition to expand our high-growth compressor nebulizer systems franchise, we decided to acquire the aerosol therapy business of Medel which allows us to better serve the needs of our customers and their patients who suffer from asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis and other respiratory disorders." Financial details of the acquisitions were not disclosed.
To replace the standard telephone tree,VGM Forbin, Waterloo, Iowa, announced last week it has partnered with CareFlash on a social networking program for people with disabilities and chronic medical conditions. Through the contemporary phenomenon, the partnership offers HME providers another avenue to reach out to their customers, the member services group said. "Online social networking has come to people with chronic medical conditions and disabilities. This will be one of the mega-trends in our country over the next two years," said Mike Mallaro, CFO and CIO for The VGM Group. "As millions of people with disabilities and chronic conditions gather in a single place, in this case in the virtual world of social networking, there can't help but be opportunities for HME providers. Online social networking creates an intricate web of possibilities for health care providers. The strategic partnership with CareFlash is one way VGM can help our members capitalize on this trend."
The CEOs of two San Bernardino County, Calif., medical companies were charged in a seven-count indictment unsealed Tuesday for their alleged roles in a Medicare fraud scheme involving unnecessary DME, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Adekunle Rafiu Shittu, a/k/a Cooley, 54, and Kim Jeanette Shittu, 45, were charged with billing more than $3.5 million to Medicare between September 2005 and October 2008 for equipment including power wheelchairs and hospital beds that was not provided to patients or that they knew patients did not need. Working through Kimco Medical Supply in San Bernardino and K&K Medical Supply in Fontana, the defendants received more than $2 million in Medicare payments for the equipment. Each defendant faces a maximum of 55 years in prison and mandatory restitution if found guilty on all counts.