LOUDON, Tenn. — The former medical director of the Statistical Analysis Durable Medical Equipment Regional Carrier said this week that in some DME categories — such as orthotics, prosthetics and wheelchairs — as much as 40 percent of the Medicare funds were paid to fraudulent suppliers. And, he said, some manufacturers have contributed to the problem.
HomeCare News
STATEMENT
of the
Honorable Heath Shuler, Chair
Subcommittee on Rural & Urban Entrepreneurship of the
House Committee on Small Business
Hearing on the
"The Impact of Competitive Bidding on Small Businesses in the
Durable Medical Equipment Community"
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
WASHINGTON — At a congressional hearing yesterday, Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., called for an end to national competitive bidding.
ARLINGTON, Va. — At a Tuesday press conference with national media, the American Association for Homecare said it would put its 13-point anti-fraud plan before Congress — again.
Unveiled in October in the middle of the election, the plan didn't "resonate the way it should," AAHomecare President Tyler Wilson told reporters. So the association is rolling it out again to make sure Congress gets the message.
WASHINGTON — Some 200 home care advocates are massing on Capitol Hill today to urge members of Congress to repeal the 36-month oxygen rental cap and permanently table competitive bidding.
WASHINGTON — In a Feb. 9 letter addressed to House leaders and members of key committees, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., asked his colleagues for help in urging CMS to set adequate payments for oxygen after the 36-month cap period. He also asked them to consider further congressional action on the matter should it be necessary.
"Without immediate changes to the Medicare oxygen policies, patient care will be compromised and Medicare costs will increase," the letter read.
BALTIMORE — CMS has announced it is asking for comments as the agency considers a delay of the effective date for its competitive bidding interim final rule. Issued in the waning hours of the Bush administration, the effective date for the rule was set 30 days after its Jan. 16 publication in the Federal Register. In documentation sent to Capitol Hill offices Friday, CMS listed that implementation date as Feb. 17.
ATLANTA — Members of a newly formed oxygen coalition sifted through provisions of several plans last week looking for common ground on reform of Medicare's oxygen benefit and repeal of the 36-month rental cap.
WASHINGTON — Once again, Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., will convene a congressional hearing to discuss the effects of DMEPOS competitive bidding on small business.
ATLANTA — Home care providers reacted with shock at the news that former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., had withdrawn his nomination as secretary of Health and Human Services. "While we are not in any worse shape because he withdrew, it is a blow to what could have been," said Tim Pederson, CEO of WestMed Rehab, Rapid City, S.D.
ATLANTA — Following the introduction of a bill Jan. 21 that would exempt pharmacies from accreditation, last week three pharmacy groups asked CMS to reconsider its new $50,000 surety bond rule.
BALTIMORE — CMS said Friday it's set to get going again with implementation of the national recovery audit contractor program.
The agency awarded contracts to four recovery audit contractors, or RACs, in October, but contract protests put implementation on hold. Those protests were resolved Feb. 6, CMS said, so ramp-up of the program will now continue.
WATERLOO, Iowa — VGM Group said Friday it has entered the exploding home modifications market with a new company called Accessible Home Improvement of America.
ATLANTA — Accreditors reported an influx of DMEPOS providers striving to meet CMS' soft Jan. 31 application date, but whether there will be enough companies accredited by the Sept. 30 mandatory date to serve Medicare beneficiaries is anyone's guess.
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.
Calling it "the first step" to health coverage for "every single American," on Wednesday President Obama signed the SCHIP bill into law to reauthorize and expand the program. The State Children's Health Insurance Program, which covers low-income children whose families don't qualify for Medicaid, was to expire March 31 without congressional action.
As President Obama's advisers mull new choices to lead the nation's health care reform effort, Republicans in the House of Representatives have set up a task force to shape their version of health reform legislation. The group includes several members who have championed HME issues, among them Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.
CMS has scheduled its next Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum Feb. 18 from 2-3 pm ET. To participate by phone, call 800/837-1935 and reference Conference ID 70015483.
AAHomecare's Medical Supplies Council sent a letter to the DME MAC medical directors Wednesday asking for help on getting medical records documentation from physicians for glucose testing supplies.
Having trouble keeping up with new policies, new rules, new payments? Then catch up with the DME MACs at Medtrade Spring.