PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (June 24, 2016)—DeVilbiss Healthcare was selected as a winner in the 18th annual Digital Health Awards program for its innovative SmartLink App for the IntelliPAP 2 CPAP System. The SmartLink App received the Award of Merit in the Telehealth/Remote Patient Monitoring category with a classification of Connect Digital Health. This competition, held twice a year, recognizes the world’s best digital health resources.
HomeCare News
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation’s leading home oxygen therapy provider and manufacturing companies—expressed disappointment that the U.S. House of Representatives did not pass the Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment (PADME) Act (H.R. 5210) before adjourning. The PADME Act is pro-patient legislation to delay the phase-in of deep Medicare cuts to home respiratory care supplies and services.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2016)—Just minutes after AAHomecare updated members about the status of rural relief legislation on Capitol Hill, they received CMS’s announcement of the release of the 2016 DMEPOS fee schedule amounts set to take effect on July 1 for certain items outside of Competitive Bid Areas that were adjusted based on information from the bidding program.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2016)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announces the release of the July 2016 Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) fee schedule amounts. The fee schedule amounts are available here.
—via AAHomecare
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 24, 2016)—As reported to the AAHomecare membership Wednesday, we were successful in passing an amended version of S.2736 through the Senate via unanimous consent on Tuesday evening.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 23, 2016)—CMS released a final rule implementing Section 216(a) of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (PAMA), requiring laboratories performing clinical diagnostic laboratory tests to report the amounts paid by private insurers for laboratory tests. Medicare will use these private insurer rates to calculate Medicare payment rates for laboratory tests paid under the Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule (CLFS) beginning January 1, 2018.
LENEXA, Kan. (June 23, 2016)—EY announced that the president and CEO of Mediware Information Systems, Inc., Kelly Mann, received the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Award in the Central Midwest. The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
Huntington, N.Y. (June 23, 2016)—Emerge Sales and PlayMaker CRM have announced a strategic partnership that will bring together industry-leading sales training and sales software for home medical equipment providers.
Mike Sperduti’s Emerge Sales has found a natural ally in PlayMaker CRM on his mission to elevate the sophistication of sales efforts in the space.
DENVER (June 23, 2016)—Remote monitoring and automated coaching from ResMed significantly improve the use of continuous positive airway pressure therapy for patients with obstructive sleep apnea, according to an independent Kaiser Permanente study presented last week at the SLEEP conference in Denver—the largest-ever randomized, controlled study on OSA in the United States.
ATLANTA (June 23, 2016)—Brightree, a provider of cloud-based software that improves clinical and business performance of post-acute care companies, announced new executive appointments to the company’s leadership team, which come as a result of its acquisition by ResMed earlier this year.
Matt Mellott will become the company’s new chief executive officer. In addition, Bobby Ghoshal will serve as Brightree’s new chief operating officer.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 23, 2016)—Legislation to delay a new round of cuts to rural and non-bid area suppliers and provide additional fixes to the Medicare competitive bidding program for home medical equipment (HME) was passed by the Senate late yesterday. The legislation (S. 2736), passed through the Senate via unanimous consent, would:
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 22, 2016)—The Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)—a coalition of the nation’s leading home oxygen therapy provider and manufacturing companies—commended Senators John Thune and Heidi Heitkamp, as well as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch and Ranking Member Ron Wyden, and their colleagues in the U.S.
WATERLOO, Iowa (June 17, 2016)—If you own a brick-and-mortar business, you likely know and comply with the existing building standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Recent developments in ADA regulations will now include websites as part of Title III of the ADA. This change means your company website(s) will soon be legally required to comply with a set of standards called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0).
ATLANTA (June 17, 2016)—Early registration for Medtrade, the fall edition of the nation’s premiere HME trade show, opens Monday, June 20. The show will once again be held in its familiar home at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, from October 31–November 3.
MILWAUKEE (June 17, 2016)—Cindy Ciardo, CEO of Knueppel HealthCare Services, Inc. (KHS) recently collaborated with a delegation of Wisconsin medical equipment providers to lobby every Wisconsin legislator in D.C. to gain support for crucial legislation for the home health industry.
WATERLOO, Iowa (June 16, 2016)—The VGM Group introduced the HME Woman of the Year Award during a special session at its annual Heartland Conference.
Open to all women who work in the industry, criteria for the HME Woman of the Year award includes paving new ways of innovation and new business processes, leadership that has secured legislative wins, improving the lives of patients and making lifelong impressions on her community.
DAVISON, Mich. (June 16, 2016)—Universal Software Solutions, Inc. (USSI), a provider of practice management solutions for the home health care markets, announced that it has enhanced its partnership with Vantiv Integrated Payments.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 16, 2016)—AAHomecare has received confirmation that competitive bidding rural relief legislation is starting to move through the hotline process in the Senate. The bill is first being cleared through the Senate Finance Committee, who have until noon Thursday (June 16) to object to the bill. Once the bill clears the committee, it will go to the full Senate.
ATLANTA (June 16, 2016)—The nation’s premiere HME-focused trade show is more than four months away, but presenters are closely watching the legislative happenings on Capitol Hill. Specifically, if phase two of rural cuts goes into effect on July 1, or if they don’t, presenters will adjust their message.