HomeCare News

SOMERSET, Pa. (April 23, 2014)—DeVilbiss Healthcare was recently named one of five finalists for the 2014 Pennsylvania Governor’s Impact Awards in the “export impact” category for the Southern Alleghenies region. This is the second consecutive year DeVilbiss has been named a finalist.

OXFORD, Mich. (April 11, 2014)—Essentially Women, a member services organization for women’s health care products, hosted their 14th annual conference and trade show, Focus on the Future, in Reno, Nev. March 16-18. The event was well attended as educational courses energized members to become politically active; armed with valuable and successful sales, merchandizing and marketing techniques; and tackled tough Medicare billing issues and an audit update.

WASHINGTON (April 17, 2014)—On April 9, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report titled “Limited Compliance with Medicare’s Home Health Face-to-Face Requirements.” This report is not related to the face-to-face requirements for DME.

WATERLOO, Iowa (April 18, 2014)—February’s OMHA Appellant Forum in Washington, D.C., afforded VGM members the opportunity to question Chief Judge Nancy Griswold about the tumultuous DME audit process. Some members, who had submitted denials they thought were inappropriate or inaccurate in advance of the event, are experiencing even better outcomes. Prior to the event, Peggy Walker of VGM’s U.S.

WASHINGTON (April 17, 2014)—Recently in Hawaii, CMS made a notable exception to the bidding program. Despite the agency’s claims that the bidding program has not harmed patients, the unintended consequences of implementing the program in the Honolulu bidding area have been disastrous. Only 13 of the 97 providers selected are located in the state of Hawaii.

SAN DIEGO (April 14, 2014)—ResMed, developer of products for the treatment of sleep-disordered breathing and other respiratory conditions, has won two Red Dot Product Design Awards for 2014—one for its AirFit P10 nasal pillows mask and one for its soon-to-be-launched Astral 150 life support ventilator. ResMed is a repeat winner, having been recognized in 2010 for its S9 Series. Red Dot is the world’s largest and most renowned design competition.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (April 11, 2014)—LogicMark, LLC, provider of two-way voice communication, announced its new SentryPal mobile personal emergency response system (PERS). LogicMark’s SentryPal is a GPS-enabled personal alert system that offers an individual the freedom to enjoy an active lifestyle with one-touch access to help in the event of an emergency. SentryPal is completely mobile. SentryPal can go wherever the user goes, with help only the push of a button away.

WASHINGTON (April 18, 2014)—An array of clinicians and advocates for Medicare patients—as well as home medical equipment providers, manufacturers and trade groups—sharply oppose a proposal by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to expand the prices of goods and services under their bid procurement program to non-bid areas throughout the country, says the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare). AAHomecare reviewed the public comments and found that the overwhelming majorit

SAN DIEGO (March 30, 2014)—Respiratory therapists (RTs) represent the best resource to help improve the health outcomes, quality of life and reduce the costs associated with the treatment and management of patients who are diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

UXBRIDGE, Mass. (April 15, 2014)—Better Rest Solutions, creator of the SoClean 2 CPAP Cleaning and Sanitizing Machine, announced that it will donate $5 to the American Sleep Apnea Association (ASAA) for every SoClean 2 sold from April 15 to May 15 in recognition of Sleep Apnea Awareness Day. Sleep Apnea Awareness Day takes place annually on April 18, marking a significant day in the history of treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.

DALLAS (April 07, 2014)—As first reported in the April 7, 2014 issue of Medtrade Monday, echoing the predictions of many experts, a Texas-based market research firm is forecasting 8.2 percent annual growth in U.S. demand for HME. RnR Market Research predicts a $12.6 billion dollar industry by 2018, with the single digit growth up to and beyond that timeframe.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (April 4, 2014)—SCA, a global hygiene and forest products company and maker of TENA personal care products, announced Svein Ryan was appointed to the position of vice president, marketing and business development, for SCA’s Personal Care business in North America. SCA is global leader in incontinence care.

AUSTIN, Texas (March 3, 2014)—Inova Labs Inc., a manufacturer of innovative oxygen therapy solutions, announced the availability of a new portable oxygen concentrator—the LifeChoice Activox Sport Model. Weighing only 3.9 pounds and featuring up to 5.5 hours of internal battery runtime, Activox Sport offers oxygen users a powerful, lightweight and hands-free portable oxygen solution.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (April 8, 2014)—The Maryland-National Capital Homecare Association (MNCHA) applauds the passage of House Bill 1029 and Senate Bill 852—the bills that, when signed into law by the Governor, will remove the pharmacy licensure requirement for durable medical equipment (DME) providers in Maryland. “This process has been an ongoing collaboration between MNCHA, numerous other state associations and the Maryland Board of Pharmacy for over a year.

AAHomecare’s new consumer facing campaign, Save My Medical Supplies (savemymedicalsupplies.org), has generated 725 letters to Congress in the first 24 hours after its launch. The campaign goal is to build a public outcry on HME issues by educating consumers about how Medicare reform mistakes are impacting people with serious medical needs. All types of medical supplies and equipment, such as wheelchairs, diabetic test strips and oxygen, are

(April 11, 2014)—ExcelHealth Inc. announced its new dual channel electrotherapy TENS device for relief of muscle and joint pain. The iReliev Pain Management System (ET-1313) is FDA approved and now available to consumers without a prescription.

ATLANTA (April 4, 2014)—A delegation led by U.S. Representative Tom Petri (R-WI), Chairman of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee and representing Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District, visited GF’s Fond du Lac, Wis.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (April 4, 2014)—Allied Management Solutions, LLC (Allied), a home medical equipment (HME) management and consulting company recently signed a new agreement with health care solutions organization, Amerinet, Inc., to provide HME solutions to Amerinet members.

SOMERSET, Pa. (April 10, 2014)—DeVilbiss Healthcare was recently awarded a patent for its innovative SmartCode Remote Therapy Monitoring system. The development of SmartCode technology revolutionized the way in which patients can remotely report CPAP therapy usage and efficacy data to the health provider. With this patent, DeVilbiss is now protected from other imitation codes on the market. “We are pleased to have been awarded a U.S.

The second major government report on the Round 1 Rebid to be issued was released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office. The report acknowledges that both beneficiary utilization and numbers of providers are down in bid areas. According to the report, in general, the number of beneficiaries being furnished with DME dropped more in the bidding areas than in the non-bidding areas they were compared to. Yet, CMS does not believe that beneficiaries experienced any access issues.