CMS has scheduled a special Open Door Forum on Tuesday, March 17 (tomorrow) at 2 pm ET to address its new $50,000 surety bond requirement for DMEPOS providers. According to the Open Door notice, CMS staff will discuss key provisions of the final rule, including exemptions, implementation dates, the definition of a final adverse action and elevated surety bond amounts.
HomeCare News
Noridian Administrative Services, the Jurisdiction D DME MAC, has scheduled an Ask the Contractor Teleconference for Tuesday, March 17 (tomorrow), at 3 pm CT. To participate, call 800/398-9389.
National Government Services announced Friday that Jurisdiction B Medical Review will begin a widespread prepayment review of negative pressure wound therapy pumps following a postpay probe last year that showed a 40 percent claim error rate. For more on the issue, click here.
The Pennsylvania Association of Medical Suppliers is planning an "HME Survival Summit" in Pittsburgh April 6.
On a Capitol Hill lobby day March 5, some 320 Medicare patients and other supporters of the National Home Infusion Association urged Congress to act on the Medicare Home Infusion Therapy Coverage Act. Reintroduced earlier this year in the Senate (S. 254) and the House (H.R.
Fourteen communities nationwide are participating in a pilot project that aims to reduce Medicare costs by preventing frequent hospital readmissions for chronically ill beneficiaries.
Upcoding — overstating the severity of a beneficiary's condition — along with kickbacks, billing for services not rendered and other fraud and abuse contributed to a 44 percent increase in Medicare spending on home health care services from 2002-2006, according to a Government Accountability Office report.
WASHINGTON — For home medical equipment industry long-timers, it was, as the venerable Yogi Berra said, déjà vu all over again when President Obama tapped Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, former HCFA admnistrator, to lead the White House Office of Health Reform.
BALTIMORE — March 17 is more than St. Patrick's Day this year. It's the last day for commenting on CMS' competitive bidding IFR, and the date of a special Open Door Forum on the surety bond requirement for DMEPOS providers.
BALTIMORE — In a move to standardize sleep test coverage nationwide, CMS issued its final coverage decision regarding obstructive sleep apnea diagnostic tests on Tuesday.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Nielsen Business Media, producer of Medtrade and Medtrade Spring, announces HomeCare magazine, a publication of Penton Media, is the official publication of Medtrade and Medtrade Spring. Medtrade and Medtrade Spring are the leading trade shows for the home medical equipment industry.
AAHomecare's Walt Gorski, vice president of government affairs, spoke Friday at the National Medicare RAC Summit, a conference about the new Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor program. Under the program, the RACs will be paid a contingency fee based on the amount of the improper payments they ferret out and collect.
AAHomecare reported last week that its New Oxygen Coalition continues to work toward consensus on a plan for reform of the Medicare home oxygen benefit. A nine-member subcommittee working within the coalition has met several times, the association said, and hopes to have a final document for consideration within the next few weeks.
In a follow-up on a point about participating and non-participating providers that came up during a Special Open Door Forum on accreditation held earlier this year, CMS has made it clear: "In either case, participating and non-participating, Medicare providers/suppliers must bill Medicare on behalf of the beneficiary and must be accredited by Sept.
A reminder from Jurisdiction A DME MAC NHIC last week notes that mandatory use of the revised Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage began March 1. CMS introduced the revised ABN March 3, 2008, and in the year since, has permitted dual acceptability of the old versions or the revised version of the form. But as of March 1, CMS said it would no longer accept any previous versions of the form.
According to a notice from Noridian Administrative Services, the Jurisdiction D DME MAC, effective immediately, when billing for oxygen equipment for a break in billing, resulting in a date of service after 36 months from the initial date on the CMN, a narrative stat
Sens. John Tester, D-Mont., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan., have introduced the Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act of 2009, a bill that would add pharmacists to the list of 17 medical professionals that are exempted from Medicare Part B accreditation requirements. The bill is a companion to a House bill introduced earlier this year by Reps.
About 86.7 million Americans, or a third of those under age 65, lacked health insurance at some point during 2007 and 2008, according to a new report by Families USA, a consumer advocacy group. Released March 4, the report found about 60 percent of those without health insurance lacked coverage for nine months or longer, while about three-quarters la
There's still time! When you're signing up for Medtrade Spring, use Code Home2009 for $50 off your conference ticket if you register before the show. With more than 250 exhibitors and 70 educational sessions, the event is just around the corner on March 24-26 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information, visit www.medtrade.com.
WASHINGTON — President Obama nominated Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, D-Kan., as Health and Human Services secretary March 2, and named Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, former HCFA administrator, to lead the White Office of Health Reform.