WASHINGTON (April 22, 2015)—From AAHomecare:
In one of the biggest regulatory wins of the last decade, CMS has announced that RAC reviews of DME items provided while a beneficiary was in a Part A stay -- including hospitals and nursing homes -- are limited to DME claims paid on or after April 1.
While DME and related supplies are covered for the entire 30 days of such stays, the automatic RAC audits were going back several years to review these types of claims.
HomeCare News
LENEXA, KS, April 20th, 2015-Mediware Information Systems, Inc. is hosting a free webinar for attendees on Wednesday, May 13, 2015, at 1:00 Central, 2:00 EST, to discuss how to grow your HME business through mergers and acquisitions. The webinar is entitled “How to use Mergers and Acquisitions to Succeed in Today’s Changing DME Marketplace,” presented by Certified Mergers and Acquisitions Advisor (CMAA), and director/partner at Vertess Consulting, Bradley Smith.
Lake Wales, FL April 22, 2015 - The Luna family of PAP devices is designed to offer patients the latest enhancements in sleep therapy while innovative compliance management technology allows for better patient management.
Luna sleep products offer more, free remote compliance reporting options than any other PAP device on the market. In a series of new innovations from 3B, the Luna brings both Wi-Fi wireless communication and QR Coding to sleep therapy.
WASHINGTON (April 21, 2015)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announces plans to recompete the supplier contracts awarded in Round 1 Recompete of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program. CMS is required by law to recompete contracts under the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding Program at least once every three years.
Owings Mills, MD – The Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC) was selected by The Agency for Health Care Administration for the state of Florida (AHCA) to provide accreditation for Home Medical Equipment (HME) suppliers there. BOC is one of five CMS-deemed Accrediting Organizations to earn this designation.
LOTHIAN, Md. (April 16, 2015)—Discovery Health Partners, a division of LaunchPoint, today announced it has restored $78 million in Medicare premiums for 12 health plans using Discovery’s Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Validation solution over the past 18 months. As part of the work, Discovery restored $8.5 million for a 32,000-member Northeastern community Medicare Advantage (MA) plan and $13.4 million for a 38,000-member Midwestern community MA plan.
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for the first time introduced star ratings on Hospital Compare, the agency’s public information website, to make it easier for consumers to choose a hospital and understand the quality of care they deliver.
WASHINGTON (April 15, 2015)—From AAHomecare - In a landmark event for the HME community, provisions to ban nonbinding bids during Medicare contract auctions were included in HR 2, which was passed by Congress late last night.
What does this mean?
In April of 2015, HR 284, stand alone legislation that would require bidders to obtain a bid bond, thus deterring low-ball bidders, was passed by the House of Representatives.
LENEXA, KS, April 14, 2015-Mediware Information Systems, Inc. is hosting a free webinar for attendees on Monday, May 18, 2015, at 1:00 CST, 2:00 EST, to discuss the importance of managing internal operations efficiently. The webinar is entitled “HME Leadership Series: The 4 Secrets of Efficient Operations Management for your HME,” presented by the President of Lieber Consulting LLC, Miriam Lieber.
WATERLOO, IOWA — April 9, 2015 — Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA), has been approved as an accreditation organization by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arkansas.
This recognition extends to their entire network which includes the affiliated companies of USAble Corporation and Health Advantage. This recognition was awarded as of April 1, 2015.
Share Your Expertise at Medtrade 2015
If you have an interesting program idea, we invite you to share your experience and knowledge by submitting a proposal for our Call for Presentations. By submitting an abstract, you will help shape the educational conferences at Medtrade 2015 and the future of the industry. If selected as a conference speaker, you will gain visibility in the HME industry and contribute to the advancement of your profession.
The Evaluation Process
WASHINGTON (April 6, 2015)—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released final Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Prescription Drug program changes for 2016 that provide fair and accurate payments to plans, and encourage the delivery of high-quality care for all populations.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (April 7, 2015)—The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) CEO B.
LUBBOCK, Texas (March 30, 2015)—The MED Group announced the expansion of its payer network to include several new and enhanced agreements. MED Group members will now have access to an additional 11.8 million covered lives through agreements with medical cost containment company Prime Health Services Inc. (PHS), MultiPlan’s Texas True Choice (TTC) Network, and Stratose.
OXFORD, Mich. (March 27,2015)—Essentially Women hosted their 15th annual conference and trade show, Focus on the Future, in Orlando, Florida on March 8th and 9th. All courses were approved for American Board for Certification and Board of Certification/Accreditation continuing education credits.
LENEXA, Kan. (April 7, 2015)—Mediware Information Systems Inc. and Rock-Pond Solutions have signed an agreement to jointly distribute software products and collaborate on new products.
Both companies are long-term suppliers to the post-acute health care market. Their combined offerings provide an end-to-end technology solution for providers who deliver home infusion (IV), home medical equipment (HME) and specialty pharmacy services to patients.
LAS VEGAS (April 1, 2015)—The voting is in, and the top prize in the biannual Innovative HME Retail Product Awards, sponsored by HomeCare magazine, has been selected. It came down to 12 products and 11 companies.
The first place winner is the iWALK 2.0 Hands Free Crutch from iWalkFree Inc.