CUMMING, Ga., March 15, 2013—Rob Brant of Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America (AMEPA) has coordinated a relaunch of the White House petition to replace Medicare’s current bidding program with the Market Pricing Program. White House petitions only last 30 days and need 100,000 signatures in order to gain a response from the president.
HomeCare News
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 6, 2013—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has informed AAHomecare that Phase 2 of the Internet-based Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS) will go into effect May 1, 2013. As of that date CMS will deny home medical equipment (HME), Part B, and Part A home health agency claims that are prescribed by health care professionals who are not enrolled in the PECOS system.
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 6, 2013—On Friday, March 1, the Office of Management and Budget submitted a report to Congress detailing $85 billion in budget cuts to comply with sequestration. Although sequestration requires reductions of two percent to Medicare payments, it remains unclear whether or not the reductions will impact competitive bidding contracts.
HALIFAX, Va., March 7, 2013—What’s the result of 125 supplier representatives having 250 Hill meetings? A nudge of the needle toward a better understanding of the DME bidding problems. NAIMES, VGM, and AAHomecare and more than a dozen state DME organizations were on the Hill Feb 26-27. More than 125 advocates walked many miles and had more than 250 Hill appointments in the two days. The result was that the message was heard. There was no push back as usual.
LAS VEGAS, MARCH 6, 2013—Don’t miss out on these informative events to be held at Medtrade Spring 2013!
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 6, 2013—Be sure to sign up for the webinar “Schemes, Scams, and Flimflams: How the DME Provider Can Recognize and Avoid Fraud Landmines” April 9 from 2:30-4:00 p.m. ET. It would be nice if DME providers operated in the “real world,” the world inhabited by auto parts stores and widget manufacturers. Unfortunately, DME providers are not in the real world.
CHESTNUT RIDGE, N.Y., March 6, 2013—MedFORCE Technologies, Inc., has obtained certification as a Health Information Handler (HIH). MedFORCE has undergone and completed extensive testing with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as part of the Electronic Submission of Medical Documentation (esMD) Program from CMS. MedFORCE is now approved and successfully submitting medical documentation via the esMD program.
NEW YORK, March 5, 2013—Durable Medical Equipment companies continue their rally to protect Medicare Beneficiaries who will fall victim to the alarming changes instituted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
ANDOVER, Mass., March 6, 2013—In a letter to the home care industry, Brent Schafer, CEO, and John Frank, vice president and general manager, sleep and respiratory care, Philips Home Healthcare Solutions, write: “Along with you, we are disappointed by the recent CMS Competitive Bidding Round 2 Reimbursement Cuts announcement.
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 6, 2013—Talk is cheap, meaning it is easy to talk about something but harder to actually do it. Not for the three members of The Alabama Durable Medical Equipment Association (ADMEA) who made the trek to Capitol Hill to meet with Legislators. “I have been going to the Hill for years; I’m going to give it one more shot,” said Don Jones, owner of Southern Medical Equipment.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 27, 2013—The Medicare bidding program for Durable Medical Equipment (DME) is devastating small and large businesses in communities across the country. And Medicare beneficiaries—senior citizens and people living with disabilities—are being endangered because of delays in obtaining critical homecare equipment, such as oxygen therapy, power wheelchairs, and diabetic testing supplies.
NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2013—Med Supply Shop, a leading online retailer of power wheelchairs and other medical supplies, is currently highlighting the expansion of the Medicare Competitive Bidding Program. The supplier wants to ensure that customers are aware of the upcoming changes.
NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2013—Durable Medical Equipment companies across their country join in the effort to protect Medicare Beneficiaries from devastating changes as a result of new Medicare suggested by The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2013—ThoughtWorks, a global custom software developer, completed a project with the International Diabetes Center (IDC) that is expected to accelerate the diabetes industry movement towards common reporting standards for its physicians, educators and patients. This initiative was funded by a grant to IDC from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.
MUNDELEIN, Ill., Feb. 26, 2013—Medline Industries, Inc. rang the closing bell at the NASDAQ Stock Market in New York City yesterday in celebration of winning the Chicago Innovation Award for its new BioMask, the first-ever FDA-cleared antiviral medical face mask that is shown to inactivate flu viruses. Organized by the Chicago Innovation Awards, the event included representatives from Medline and the other winners of the Chicago Innovation awards.
NORWELL, Mass., Feb. 26, 2013—Carex Health Brands, a global leader in the development, manufacturing and retailing of in-home health products for more than two decades, is introducing two new items to its mobility lineup.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb, 26, 2013—This is the largest study in the history of home care. The results will shape decision making by leaders in home care agencies throughout the country. The focus is on key IT, telehealth, health care reform and operational practices that are or will impact agencies.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 26, 2013—Patient Home Monitoring (PHM) introduces its new Affiliate Physician Marketing Program designed to provide affiliates with an ongoing association where PHM provides a five-year payment stream in exchange for client facing services. PHM, through its Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility (IDTF) will bill Medicare and manage the fulfillment aspects of the in home testing service for people prescribed Coumadin (generic Warfarin).
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb, 26, 2013—Sign up now for the “Medicare is Not the Only Payer Source: V.A., Workers Comp., Commercial Insurers and Other Payer Sources” webinar on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 2:30-4 p.m. ET, with Jeffrey S. Baird, Esq., Brown & Fortunato, P.C.
CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2013—Sunset Healthcare Solutions will launch their new official company blog: “Sunset Unfiltered” on Feb. 26. The blog can be found at www.sunsethcs.com/blog. This extension of their current website will act as a database of useful product information and will be an avenue for Sunset employees to interact with HMEs and respiratory patients about their products.