DORAL, Fla. — Florida HME providers are breathing easier this week after managing to sidestep several state legislative measures that, if allowed to pass, would have burdened providers and created access problems for beneficiaries, according to the Florida Alliance of Home Care Services.
In a Thursday update, FAHCS said providers had been successful in:
LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. — Air Products announced last week the company has sold all of its U.S. home infusion therapy business and some elements of its respiratory and HME business to Walgreens subsidiary OptionCare Enterprises. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Last Monday, Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan., introduced a companion bill to the Preserve Patient Access to Reputable DMEPOS Providers Act of 2009 (S. 956). A House version of the bill (H.R. 1970) was introduced April 2. The legislation would exempt pharmacies from having to post a $50,000 DMEPOS surety bond.
According to CMS, effective June 1, DMEPOS suppliers submitting applications to Medicare must use the revised CMS-855S form or the application will be rejected. The revised form includes a 26th Supplier Standard: "All DMEPOS suppliers must obtain a surety bond in order to receive and retain a supplier billing number." The revised form also includes a section for reporting surety bond information. View the revised CMS-855S form.
On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously confirmed Bill Corr as deputy secretary of Health and Human Services. He fills the No. 2 spot at the department and will work with newly sworn-in HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as the national debate on health reform heats up. Corr most recently served as executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and served as HHS chief of staff during the Clinton administration.
Pride Mobility Products Corp., Exeter, Pa., unveiled a new logo and tagline last week: Performance Mobility — Live Your Best. The new logo draws the correlation between Pride's performance-based products and the consumer's ability to lead an independent, active life, the company said. The logo and tagline will be used for all retail mobility and standard power products, which primarily target the geriatric market.
In a Wednesday press briefing, Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the role of health workers in helping spread the H1N1 flu is getting a look. "When you're thinking about risk, who comes in contact with the most individuals who are sick and have flu? Health care workers," Besser said. With the disease in the United States turning out to be mild, Besser said CDC teams are already going back in to study its spread.
CMS has scheduled its next May 13 at 2 p.m. ET. To participate by phone, call 800/837-1935 and reference Conference ID 94280596.
The Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America and the newly formed Florida Alliance of Home Care Services have announced they will sponsor the Florida Home Care Conference on May 20 in Orlando.
CMS has issued an MLN Matters Article outlining HIPAA 5010 changes and how providers need to plan. According to the agency, "implementation will require changes to the software, systems and perhaps procedures that you use for billing Medicare and other payers. So it is extremely important that you are aware of these HIPAA changes and plan for their implementation." Read the overview in MLN Matters SE0904.
ResMed, San Diego, has announced record revenue and income for the quarter ended March 31. Revenue for the 2009 quarter was $227.9 million, an 8 percent increase (a 16 percent increase on a constant currency basis) over the 2008 quarter. Income from operations was $52.5 million and net income was $39.2 million, an increase of 40 percent and 32 percent, respectively, compared to last year's results. Earnings per share were $0.51, an increase of 34 percent over the same quarter in 2008.
The Practicing Clinicians Exchange said last week it will partner with the Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation to provide continuing education programs to nurse practitioners and physician assistants on RLS. According to the PCE, one in 10 Americans has RLS, which is characterized by an irrestible urge to move th legs. Symptoms often occur at night, disrupting sleep and causing a reduced quality of life.
WASHINGTON--On Wednesday, the Senate unanimously confirmed Bill
Corr as deputy secretary of Health and Human Services. He fills the
No. 2 spot at the department and will work with newly sworn-in HHS
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as the national debate on health reform
heats up.
RICHMOND, Va.--One press report calls it the sign of a new
digital age, and another says it’s the next cable movie:
Hackers claim to have stolen 8.3 million confidential health
records from a Virginia state government site and are holding them
for a $10 million ransom.
LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.--Air Products announced earlier today the
company has sold all of its U.S. home infusion therapy business and
some elements of its respiratory and HME business to Walgreens
subsidiary OptionCare Enterprises. Terms of the deal were not
disclosed.
WASHINGTON--For the second time, the Federal Trade Commission
has delayed enforcement of its new “Red Flags” rules
requiring the implementation of identity theft prevention programs.
The rules had been set for enforcement May 1, but in a last-minute
decision April 30, the commission pushed its compliance deadline
back three months to Aug. 1.
ARLINGTON, Va.--More than half (53 percent) of the nation's home
medical equipment and service providers have formal plans to
respond to a pandemic flu and another 23 percent have stockpiled
N95 masks or other supplies related to a flu pandemic, according to
a survey conducted by the American Association for Homecare.
Two-thirds say they are coordinating or communicating with other
organizations in their communities to prepare for a pandemic.
BALTIMORE — As of today, HME companies applying for a new National Provider Identifier must have a $50,000 surety bond in order to be approved as a Medicare provider.
ATLANTA — As the federal government rolled out a massive effort to contain the H1N1 flu last week, consumers across the country went on a buying spree for masks and hand gel in an attempt to protect themselves from the virus.
John Woolard of Concord, Calif.-based Home Med-Equip said the company's retail store in Modesto sold 245 masks in three days.
ARLINGTON, Va. — Last week the American Association for Homecare noted the current flu outbreak is a reminder of the key role that home care providers will likely play in responding to an influenza pandemic.
