HomeCare News

WASHINGTON — With the government's response to the H1N1 flu outbreak in full swing, newly sworn in Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius can begin to focus attention on other matters. And not a moment too soon, HME observers say, as CMS is waiting in the wings on a restart of competitive bidding.

ATLANTA — Members of the second Program Advisory and Oversight Committee said Friday they are hopeful they can have a positive impact on DMEPOS competitive bidding as the rebid process moves forward.

RAC 'Em Up: CMS Continues New Audit Program Outreach

SAN FRANCISCO — With its Recovery Audit Contractors going live in some states in March, CMS continues area outreach on the new audit program this week with three sessions at its San Francisco regional office. In-person sessions are also set for Texas this month.

WATERBURY, Conn. — Health Complex Medical celebrates 25 years in business this month, founded by Jack Hogan and Ed Sklanka in May 1984. Specializing in oxygen and sleep therapy, the company now employs 60 people and has two branches serving Connecticut in addition to the main location in Waterbury.

WASHINGTON--The Senate has confirmed Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Although Republicans expressed concern over her pro-abortion stances and tax issues, Sebelius won confirmation for the nation’s top health care post in a 65-31 vote yesterday. The last of the Cabinet nominees awaiting confirmation, Sebelius was sworn in shortly thereafter in a ceremony with President Obama.

WASHINGTON--In a focused lobbying effort last week, supporters hit Capitol Hill offices to advocate for a separate benefit category for complex rehab.
 
Held April 21 during the Continuing Education and Legislative Advocacy Conference, members of the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology and the National Registry of Rehab Technology Specialists made more than 100 visits to legislative offices.
 

EVANSTON, Ill.--DM Systems was founded in 1979 when Denis Drennan, an orthopedic surgeon, could not find a quality product on the market to treat pressure ulcers. His solution was to design a soft foam boot that would suspend the heel to promote a pressure-free environment. Thirty years later, the company’s Heelift Suspension Boot continues to be used in health care facilities worldwide.
 

ELYRIA, Ohio--Invacare's Corp.'s Team Invacare placed first in the men's wheelchair division and second in the women's wheelchair division in the 113th Boston Marathon last week.
 

ATLANTA — HME providers who won contracts in the aborted Round One of DMEPOS competitive bidding last year plan to campaign against the newest attempt to implement the program, they told HomeCare Monday last week.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida providers are scrambling to quash an effort that would establish a competitive bidding program for the state's Medicaid consumables program.

A bill to be voted on this week would mandate a competitive bidding program for all incontinence and medical consumables by December. Providers say such a move would decrease beneficiaries' access to quality health care and raise costs.

ATLANTA — A Medicare oxygen reform plan has the potential to help the industry, but the time to move forward is now, the former chairman of the American Association for Homecare said last week.

"At the end of the day, I think it is going to be very good for the industry. But we need to move forward and find some champions on Capitol Hill," said Tom Ryan, president and CEO of Homecare Concepts in Farmingdale, N.Y., and immediate past chairman of AAHomecare.

WASHINGTON — Last week at a Senate subcommittee hearing on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, AAHomecare submitted a statement for the record outlining its 13-point plan to stop fraud.

But during the Wednesday hearing, an association update said, the DMEPOS competitive bidding program "was discussed as if it were an anti-fraud tool and a panacea for Medicare reform."

WASHINGTON — While only 2 percent of Medicare beneficiaries live in South Florida, the area accounted for 17 percent of Medicare's total spending for inhalation drugs in 2007, according to an HHS Office of Inspector General report.

ELYRIA, Ohio — Invacare Corp. reported Thursday that first-quarter earnings were up compared with a year ago despite a decline in sales.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Last week Lincare Holdings reported net revenues for the quarter ended March 31 of $371.7 million, down 10.5 percent from $415.4 million for the first quarter of 2008.

Net income for the quarter was $26 million, or 36 cents a share, compared to net income of $58.2 million, or 76 cents a share, a year earlier.

LUBBOCK, Texas; BELLEVILLE, Ill. — The MED Group and The ROHO Group have partnered on a service that will let clinicians prescribe ROHO's therapeutic support surfaces and cushions for their patients with orders to be filled through MED's national HME provider network.

ATLANTA — Just when you thought you had all the newest rules and regulations under control, it's time to make sure you're ready for the FTC's "Red Flags Rule" on identity theft.

President Obama said Thursday the government will create a national electronic medical records system for the military that can be a model for reform of the country's health care administration. The president has emphasized EMRs as part of his health care reform plan. Set up by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, an electronic record would follow military personnel "from the day they first enlist to the day that they are laid to rest," Obama said.