ELYRIA, Ohio — Invacare Corp. has named Anthony C. LaPlaca senior vice president and general counsel, replacing Dale C. LaPorte, who retired in December. LaPlaca will report directly to A. Malachi Mixon, III, chairman and CEO. He will be responsible for all legal affairs, risk management and intellectual property matters and will also serve as the company's corporate secretary.
HomeCare News
In conjunction with its announcement of a new surety bond requirement for HME providers, CMS also said it has revoked the billing privileges of 1,139 providers in the Los Angeles and Miami areas.
CMS was busy Dec. 31. In yet another transmittal issued New Year's Eve, the agency clarified that signature and date stamps are not acceptable for use on CMNs and DME MAC information forms (DIFs) after Feb. 2.
"The method used should be handwritten including facsimiles of original written or an electronic signature" to sign an order or other medical record documentation for medical review purposes, the agency said.
According to a notice from National Government Services, CEDI has discovered duplicate claim files were delivered to the DME MACs on Jan. 2. These were claims received after the last files were created for delivery on Dec. 31, 2008, through the holiday on Jan. 1, 2009, and Jan. 2, 2009.
U.S. health care spending by both the public and private sectors grew at a rate of 6.1 percent to $2.2 trillion in 2007, down from growth of 6.7 percent in 2006.
Last week The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission approved a recommendation that would increase reimbursements to primary care physicians by 1.1 percent in 2010 and give hospitals a full market basket update for both inpatient and outpatient care. The commission also recommended reducing payments to home health agencies and increasing payments to long-term care hospitals and dialysis centers, according to CQ Healthbeat.
Providers appealed more improper payment decisions made by its Recovery Audit Contractors than CMS first reported, the agency said last week. Of the more than 525,000 overpayment determinations made by the RACs between 2005 and 2008, providers appealed more than 118,000, or 22.5 percent.
ATLANTA — A contingent of seven Republican senators on Friday called on CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems to "revise and, if necessary, delay" the Jan. 1 implementation of the 36-month oxygen rental cap.
WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy filed comments with CMS asking that the agency do a better job analyzing the economic impacts of the 36-month O2 cap on small oxygen providers.
WASHINGTON — Oxygen providers who bill Medicare will be about $850 million short in reimbursement in 2009, according to a new study on Medicare payment policy and home oxygen therapy.
AMARILLO, Texas — With all the confusion surrounding CMS' new post-cap oxygen payment rules, it's time for some answers. In a special series for HomeCare Monday, Lisa K. Smith, Esq., an attorney with the Health Care Group at Brown & Fortunato, P.C., a law firm based in Amarillo, Texas, responds to several of home medical equipment providers' most common questions about the new rules.
ATLANTA — After a call from the Obama administration for public input on health care reform (see Obama Sets the Stage for Health Care Reform, HomeCare Monday, Dec. 15), several industry organizations scheduled community meetings to raise HME's issues.
SOMERSET, Pa. — DeVilbiss Healthcare has appointed Alan Panzer as president and CEO. Panzer most recently served as president of United States Surgical/Valleylab Co. for Covidien, and prior to that, as president of Tyco Healthcare Vascular Therapy. His earlier experience includes sales leadership positions at The Kendall Healthcare Co. and Pfizer. "I am excited to join DeVilbiss.
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.
BALTIMORE — If you've decided CMS' new post-cap oxygen payment rules are unworkable and you'll simply get out of the Medicare oxygen business, think again, an agency official said last week.
WASHINGTON — In an eerie echo of the summer's frantic bid to derail competitive bidding, HME providers implored federal lawmakers late last week to sign onto a letter to CMS calling for a delay of the 36-month oxygen rental cap.
AMARILLO, Texas — With all the confusion surrounding CMS' new post-cap oxygen payment rules, it's time for some answers. Beginning a special series today for HomeCare Monday, Lisa K. Smith, Esq., an attorney with the Health Care Group at Brown & Fortunato, P.C., a law firm based in Amarillo, Texas, responds to several of home medical equipment providers' most common questions about the new rules.
WASHINGTON — The rebuilding of the nation's health care structure will be led by former South Dakota Sen.
NEW BERLIN, Wisc. — Home Care Medical has expanded with a newly redesigned 8,400-sq. ft. retail store in Milwaukee. "Our motto at our retail facility is try before you buy! At our retail store, a client has the ability to try scooters, walkers, wheelchairs, designer lift chairs and more," said Patti Kelnhofer, manager.
SARASOTA, Fla. — Harmar Mobility has appointed Michael E. Parsons vice president of sales and marketing. Previously, Parsons served as North American vice president of sales for Invacare Corp. and held various other positions throughout his 27-year career at the company, including credit manager, assistant treasurer and president of Invalease, Invacare's leasing subsidiary.