WASHINGTON--In a letter addressed to government officials,
Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Ohio, asks for rescission of the impending
interim final rule on competitive bidding. The IFR is
slated to take effect April 18 and requires a rebid of Round One in
2009.
HomeCare News
WASHINGTON--Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House
Office for Health Reform, told thousands of AARP members Tuesday
that she is confident a bill to revamp the nation’s health
care system will be signed into law by President Obama this
year.
HALIFAX, Va.--A Tuesday afternoon update from the National
Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers said that
after more than 20 hours of teleconference calls, the New Oxygen
Coalition “has reached what seems to be an impasse over
details of the proposal to reform oxygen.
ATLANTA — Providers in the remaining Round One competitive bidding areas should get ready for a rebid. That was the advice from VGM Group's Mark Higley during a March 25 session at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas.
ATLANTA — Working against a ticking health care reform clock, members of the New Oxygen Coalition put out a revised oxygen reform plan last week, but the HME sector is still divided over some of the plan's provisions, stakeholders said Friday.
BALTIMORE — At an Open Door Forum on Wednesday, CMS officials ticked through a raft of important dates for DMEPOS providers on accreditation, the interim final rule on competitive bidding, the Recovery Audit Contractor program and use of the revised 855S enrollment form. But it was clarification on several points about the agency's new surety bond requirement that garnered the most attention from teleconference listeners.
WASHINGTON — FDA regulation of tobacco moved closer on Tuesday with passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in the House. Co-sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Todd Platts, R-Pa., the bill would give the FDA authority to oversee and regulate tobacco marketing and sales in the U.S.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), President Obama's nominee to head HHS, sailed through a Thursday confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee. According to press reports, during the hearing Sebelius addressed the prickly issue of universal health coverage by saying, "There may be variations about how best to reach the goal most effectively, most cost effectively, most efficiently, with the best health outcomes of insuring every American.
AAHomecare's "Stand Up for Homecare" reception last month drew 200 attendees and raised $35,000, officials said. Held March 24 during Medtrade Spring, proceeds from the event will be used for support of the association's public awareness campaign promoting the mission of home care.
The North Carolina Association for Medical Equipment Services' Beth Bowen, executive director, and Joey Tart, past president, attended the fourth regional White House forum on health reform, held March 31 in Greensboro, N.C. Hosted by Gov.
Medtrade Spring organizers said last week attendance at the Las Vegas expo revealed "home medical equipment providers across the country are dedicated to finding creative solutions that enhance the lives of their patients and the success of their businesses." Some 4,600 HME stakeholders — 3,000 of them providers — gathered for the mid-year event, held March 24-26.
Lubbock, Texas-based The MED Group has changed the dates for its National Rehab Network Summit to May 19-20 in Denver. The date change was made so members could take advantage of better travel and hotel rates, the group said. This year's annual educational and networking event will focus on using best business practices and improving operational efficiencies.
The audio transcript of a Nov. 12, 2008, conference call for Part A and B providers explaining the new ICD-10 codes and how they differ from ICD-9 is now available from CMS. Access the transcript in the Downloads Section at www.cms.hhs.gov/ICD10/07_Sponsored_Calls.asp.
NHIC, the Jurisdiction A DME MAC, is offering a "Test Your Knowledge" quiz on Comprehensive Error Rate Testing. After completing the quiz, users will be directed to the correct answers along with where to locate more information on CERT. The results will also be used to detect educational needs among the supplier community, the DME MAC said.
The Jurisdiction B DME MAC will be conducting Medicare 201 "Straight Talk with Medicare" half-day seminars throughout the month of May in each of the region's seven states. To be held May 12-21, the sessions will cover advanced billing, modifiers, reopenings and appeals, documentation requirements, proper use of the ABN and billing of oxygen.
Jurisdiction C has designed an entire week of manual and power wheelchair Webinars ranging from basic billing education to addressing accessories and policy requirements. The sessions will be held April 13-17.
WASHINGTON--FDA regulation of tobacco moved closer this week with passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in the House on April 2. Co-sponsored by Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Todd Platts, R-Pa., the bill would give the FDA the authority to oversee and regulate tobacco marketing and sales in the U.S.
Under the bipartisan legislation, the FDA would have specific
authority to:
LAS VEGAS — Some 450 attendees jammed a Medtrade Spring meeting room Wednesday to hear details of a Medicare oxygen reform plan hammered out by members of the New Oxygen Coalition. And according to Tyler Wilson, president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare, that plan has become "urgent" as the nation's health care reform effort picks up speed.
LAS VEGAS — Three main issues were on the agenda and on providers' minds as HME stakeholders gathered at the Las Vegas Convention Center for Medtrade Spring, March 24-26: the 36-month oxygen cap, the 9.5 percent cut and the revived threat of competitive bidding.
ORLANDO — A third home medical equipment association has entered the picture in Florida, this time a for-profit corporation headed by the previous executive director of the Florida Association of Medical Equipment Services.
Heather Allan, executive director of FAMES for nine years, said last week she has formed the Florida Home Medical Equipment Association Inc., which is based in Orlando.