WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's proposed 2010 budget might be lacking in details, but there was enough in the $3.6 trillion document to make industry stakeholders wary of what it might mean for the home medical equipment sector of health care.
HomeCare News
ATLANTA — Sleep therapy providers said last week they are logging significant losses as a result of the new PAP policy instituted Nov. 1, and some are appealing to physicians to intercede with Medicare on their behalf.
WASHINGTON — When it was all said and done last week, 123 members of the House of Representatives had signed on to a "Dear Colleague" letter to ask that CMS revise the post-36-month oxygen payment rules.
ATLANTA — Last week, the DME MACs said they are instituting a billing and payment policy for common repairs based on standardized labor times effective for claims with dates of service on or after April 1, 2009.
WASHINGTON — The White House Office of Health Reform sits vacant as the Obama administration regroups from former Sen. Tom Daschle's withdrawal as the person to run it, and to head the Department of Health and Human Services. But last week, the Senate HELP committee heard a request to create another White House office focused specifically on health and wellness.
Graham-Field Health Products, Atlanta, has promoted Ken Spett to executive vice president. In his new position, Spett's responsibilities will encompass the medical/surgical, home care, consumer and international divisions, along with global operations and marketing.
Rehab and respiratory providers can earn CEUs at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas, March 24-26. The University of Pittsburgh has approved CEUs for seven sessions from the Rehabilitation & Assistive Technology Track. The CEUs will also be accepted by both RESNA and NRRTS for credentialing purposes.
CMS posted its second extension of the timeline for publication of the Medicare claims appeal procedures final rule until March 1, 2010, in Friday's Federal Register. The agency said it was not able to meet the timeline for publication of the final rule because President Obama's new staff needed an opportunity to further review the policies that will be set out in the rule.
The number of Californians with Alzheimer's disease will nearly double to 1.1 million by 2030, according to a new report from the Alzheimer's Association. Already the sixth leading cause of death in the state, the report said, now California baby boomers age 55 and older, those of all race and ethnic groups and from every region, have a one-in-eight lifetime risk of developing the fatal disease. And that's just in California …
The National Sleep Foundation's Sleep Awareness Week, March 1-8 this year, is a week-long public information, education and awareness campaign that coincides with the return of Daylight Savings Time. For information, see the NSF Web site at www.sleepfoundation.org.
A Miami Lakes, Fla., motorcycle mechanic has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution for his role in a $5.4 million Medicare fraud and money-laundering scheme. In December, a Miami jury convicted Jimmy A. Soto, of a series of health care fraud and money laundering charges stemming from false claims for DME.
In a clarification sent last week, National Government Services, the Jurisdiction B DME MAC, said it has received several questions about MLN Matters article 6261 regarding signature and date stamps. According to the MAC's message, one of the highest Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) errors continues to involve "multiple issues related to physician orders, including the lack of a legible identi
In every congressional session since 1993, Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., has re-introduced legislation that would create a single-payer health care system. This year was no different. On Feb.
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, in a near-hour-long address to members of Congress and the American people Tuesday night, pledged health care reform within the year.
WASHINGTON — Growth in the nation's health care spending is expected to slow this year compared to 2008 but will significantly outpace economic growth due to the recession, CMS estimates.
WASHINGTON — With a deadline looming at close of business today, home oxygen providers and other stakeholders pressed legislators last week to sign on to a bipartisan "Dear Colleague" letter calling for appropriate payments for home oxygen therapy (see Price Asks House Colleagues to Act on Oxygen Payments, Feb. 10).
BALTIMORE — Through a listserv message from the DME MACs last week, CMS released information on the use of certificates of medical necessity related to its new oxygen rules.
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — On Feb. 12, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration convened a public workshop on development of a unique device identification system for medical devices under the FDA Amendments Act of 2007, which mandates the UDI.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Community Pharmacists Association has launched a grassroots lobbying effort that it hopes will drive the community pharmacy message to Congress.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Legislative and regulatory issues, increased operational efficiency and improved patient care will headline the educational conference at Medtrade Spring, according to show producer Nielsen Business Media. The mid-year event is set March 24 — 26 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.