ATLANTA (July 26, 2018)—Providers looking to dip toes into retail waters, or jump in with both feet, will have plenty of opportunities at Medtrade, scheduled for October 15–17, 2018, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Rob Baumhover, director of retail for VGM Group, will be a familiar face during many of the retail-focused events, including a new breakfast session called Rise & Retail, scheduled for Wednesday, October 17, from 7:30 a.m.–9 a.m.
HomeCare News
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 26, 2018)—This week, West Virginia’s Congressional delegation released a letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma asking her to address their concerns regarding “the significant cost differences that rural providers face relative to their urban counterparts within the CBAs,” after those issues were not resolved in the DME-related interim final rule released in May.
(July 24, 2018)—In a July 19 blog post, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced the creation of the CMS Chief Health Informatics Officer (CHIO). The goal of the CHIO’s role is to drive health IT and data sharing to enhance health care delivery, improve health outcomes, drive down costs and empower patients, according to CMS. The role will be filled with a leader in the health care IT space and serve on CMS Administrator Seema Verma’s leadership team.
UNITED STATES (July 24, 2018)—Data from a new international survey of wheelchair users on behalf of the Toyota Mobility Foundation highlights the need for innovation in the field of assistive technology to allow people with limited mobility the opportunity to fulfill their potential in the workplace. The impact of this survey could have huge consequences for the estimated 65 million people worldwide who use a wheelchair.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (July 24, 2018)—Providers have the opportunity to become a certified durable medical equipment specialist (CDME). The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) is conducting a program, August 29–30, 2018, at its headquarters in Owings Mills, Maryland, which will allow providers to obtain the CDME certification.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (July 23, 2018)—Dennis Sharpe, director of Global HME Business for MK Battery, has announced that he will retire as of August 31, 2018, closing out a 32-year career with the company. He plans to focus on his passion outside of the battery business, marketing his own brand of fine wines on the Central Coast of California.
OMAHA, Neb. (July 19, 2018)—Immanuel Communities, an independent living, assisted living and long-term care retirement community, established a long-term strategic home health and hospice collaboration with the Visiting Nurse Association (VNA).
The Immanuel and VNA collaboration aims to provide better integration of additional health care services as residents’ needs change, according to a press statement.
(July 19, 2018)—The U.S. Senate unanimously approved legislation to delay until 2020 the requirement of electronic visit verification (EVV) to document when personal care services are provided. An identical bill passed the House of Representatives, sending the legislation to President Trump to sign into law.
WATERLOO, Iowa (July 18, 2018)—VGM Group, Inc. has released the names of the five people who will serve on the HME Woman of the Year Honorary Selection Committee.
PHOENIX, Ariz. (July 18, 2018)—EWheels announced it is venturing into the medical products and device manufacturing industry.
An entirely new company, EWheels Medical (ewheelsmedical.com) was created with all of the experience and energy of the EWheels brand.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 17, 2018)—PlayMaker Health, a post-acute growth platform, has acquired viaDirect Solutions, a provider of market intelligence and data analytics for the post-acute sector.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (July 17, 2018)—Building on its commitment to improving the lives of individuals with disabilities, Numotion has announced the formation of the Numotion Foundation, whose mission is to support people and causes that work towards enhancing the lives of people with disabilities in communities of common interest.
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (July 16, 2018)—Bonafide Management Systems announced optical character recognition (OCR) functionality. This technology allows customers to efficiently and instantly search scanned documents on the Bonafide system. OCR is included at no additional charge to Bonafide customers.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (July 16, 2018)—Allegiance Group, a provider of patient-pay collections, announced COLLECTPlus has earned Certified status for information security from HITRUST.
LENEXA, Kan.—Mediware Information Systems, Inc., announced that it has acquired Fazzi Associates, aiming to combine strengths for growth and greater capacity to help post-acute and community-based providers, and further the company's position in the home health and hospice market.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 12, 2018)—On Tuesday, July 10, the Trump administration released a new list of goods imported from China that could face 10 percent tariffs. Items on the list that may be of particular interest to the HME community include:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 12, 2018)—AAHomecare has developed a new two-page summary that recaps 16 significant reimbursement policy shifts affecting the HME community, including fee schedule adjustments, the implementation of competitive bidding, expansion of bidding-derived prices nationwide, and limiting the federal allowable for Medicaid.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 11, 2018)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took steps toward changing Medicare’s DME fee schedule payments, proposing market-oriented reforms to the durable medical equipment prosthetics, orthotics and supplies (DMEPOS) competitive bidding program (CBP).
By Liz Carey
In its July 11, 2018, proposed rule, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) pitched new lead item pricing as a measure to improve the competitive bidding program, saying the change would greatly reduce the complexity of the bidding process and the burden on suppliers since they would no longer have to submit bids for numerous items in a product category.