WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 15, 2016)—AAHomecare has received confirmation that H.R. 5210, the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act, did not successfully clear through the Senate before adjournment last night thanks to a hold placed by an unidentified Senator. This means the July 1 round of cuts for rural and non-bid area suppliers will remain in effect unless Congress takes action when they return in September.
HomeCare News
MORRISVILLE, N.C. (July 13, 2016)—Blood pressure technology expert SunTech Medical has received FDA approval for U.S. distribution of its next-generation spot-check vital signs device, the SunTech CT40.
Responding to Reimbursement Cuts: Billing Non-Assigned and Other Options (An AAHomecare webinar)
Presented by: Jeff Baird, Brown & Fortunato
Wednesday, July 27, 2:30-4 p.m. EST
We now know what Medicare reimbursement is…and it is not pretty. The bottom line is that Medicare will pay as little as possible for DME. And yet, with 78 million baby boomers retiring at the rate of 10,000 per day, the demand for DME will dramatically increase.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 14, 2016)—Last year, AAHomecare began meeting with CMS’s CERT contractor oversight team to discuss efforts to lower the DMEPOS industry’s CERT error rate. In 2010, the DMEPOS CERT error rate was at an all-time high of 73.8 percent. As of 2015, the error rate has decreased to 39.9 percent. In an effort to better understand the driving force of the error rate, AAHomecare submitted a FOIA request for detailed data on the denial reasons.
PADME Act Stalled in Senate July 15, 2016. Read the update here.
Business Executives Concerned About Overtime Rule, Survey Finds
Business executives are bracing for the ramifications of the Department of Labor's (DOL) new overtime rule. (Lydia Wheeler/The Hill)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 8, 2016)—Val J. Halamandaris, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), announced that Jim Comer has been selected as one of the speakers at the 2016 NAHC Annual Meeting, to be held October 23-26 at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
ATLANTA, Ga. (July 6, 2016)—Provider Web Capital announces its continued growth in monthly origination numbers, with June 2016 far outpacing the same period in 2015. Transactions of note are highlighted below.
The MED Group is hosting a workshop, titled, "Taking a Deep Dive to Understand Payer Development Opportunities for the HME Provider," at Medtrade 2016 in Atlanta.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 14, 2016)—Total health care spending growth is expected to average 5.8 percent annually over 2015–2025, according to a report published as a "Web First" by Health Affairs and authored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Office of the Actuary (OACT).
WATERLOO, Iowa – July 12, 2016 – Organizers of Essentially Women’s Focus Conference announced that best-selling author, entrepreneur and cancer survivor David Wagner has been selected as the keynote speaker.
Homecare Becomes No. 1 Target for Labor Lawsuits
The home health industry has been hammered with new requirements over the last few years, particularly when it comes to labor laws. (Amy Baxter/Home Health Care News)
EXETER, Penn. (July 7, 2016)—Quantum Rehab is pleased to announce the launch of its enhanced website dedicated to meeting the expanding content and application wishes of complex rehab consumers, clinicians and providers.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 7, 2016)—The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) has commissioned Dobson DaVanzo & Associates, LLC to conduct a full study of suppliers’ fixed and variable costs for furnishing the services associated with supplying durable medical equipment. While limited cost study analyses have been performed in the past, this will be the first to consider DME in multiple categories that are under threat by competitive bidding pricing.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 7, 2016)—CMS proposed updated payment rates and policy changes in the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System. Several of the proposed policy changes would improve the quality of care Medicare patients receive by better supporting their physicians and other health care providers.
ATLANTA (July 7, 2016)—GF Health Products, Inc. (“Graham-Field”) is embarking on a new journey with Mercy Ships to help provide critical care to those most in need. As part of this Community Giving effort, Graham-Field will be donating medical equipment to help support Mercy Ships’ surgical care efforts in Africa and other medically underserved locations.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 6, 2016)—CMS has published 2015 Open Payments data, along with newly submitted and updated payment records for the 2013 and 2014 reporting periods, at openpaymentsdata.cms.gov.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 6, 2016)—CMS finalized new rules that will enrich the Qualified Entity Program by expanding access to analyses and data that will help providers, employers and others make more informed decisions about care delivery and quality improvement.
OLD FORGE, Penn. (July 6, 2016)—Golden Technologies is proud to announce that they are giving away a brand new Golden Buzzaround Scooter as part of a contest that aims to promote Golden products to the customer and to ultimately drive traffic to Golden retailers. Additionally, Golden has provided free marketing materials—four different ad slicks from which to choose that feature the Buzz EX, and a pre-written press release to assist the retailer with their advertising.