OXFORD, Miss., Feb. 6, 2013—Essentially Women—the premier Group Purchasing Organization for women’s health care products—prepares to launch Focus on the Future 2013. This event, its 13th annual Educational Conference and Tradeshow, will take place on March 17-19, 2013 in Charleston, S.C.
HomeCare News
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., Feb. 6, 2013—For wheelchair users, the winter season can be challenging and limiting whether trying to get around on busy city streets or in the countryside. The small front wheels sink into the snow making the wheelchair difficult to move and steer, leading many to instead choose to sit the winter out in the confines of their home.
ST. LOUIS, Mo., Feb. 7, 2013—Responsive Respiratory introduces a new oxygen solutions catalog for 2013. The comprehensive oxygen catalog highlights RRI’s commitment to high pressure oxygen products and includes a myriad of products for the oxygen market including: conservers, regulators and cases, carts, racks, cylinders and accessory items.
WASHINGTON, DC, February 5, 2013—The plummeting reimbursement rates set by Medicare for Durable Medical Equipment (DME) demonstrate why its procurement system for home medical equipment is a defective process likely to produce troubling results.
HALIFAX, Va., Feb. 7, 2013—According to the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES), the Congressional Budget Office released an analysis this week that reduced the cost of eliminating the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula by $107 billion. This new estimate has renewed efforts by some members of Congress to repeal the SGR once and for all.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 7, 2013—The American Association for Homecare has been pushing House and Senate lawmakers to get some answers from CMS about Round 2 of competitive bidding, while at the same time the association is building its case that last week’s pricing announcement is leading to an almost certain implosion of the country's home care system.
LAS VEGAS, Feb. 8, 2013—Attendees who register today (Feb. 11) for Medtrade Spring 2013 can save money by going to
• $99 for the conference educational sessions
• $25 for an Expo Pass
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 3, 2013—Like two prizefighters duking it out in a 15-round title bout, CMS and the DME industry have stepped into the ring of cost cutting and cost saving for over a decade and beyond.
BALTIMORE, Md., Jan. 30, 2013—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced new, lower Medicare prices that will go into effect this July in a major expansion of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program. The CMS Office of the Actuary estimates that the program will save the Medicare Part B Trust Fund $25.7 billion and beneficiaries $17.1 billion between 2013 and 2022.
Bob Messenger, manager of respiratory education for the Invacare Corporation, will present “Healthcare Reform & Homecare: What Does It Mean for Your Company?” at Medtrade Spring Thursday, March 21, 2013, from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the Islander Ballroom. He is a registered respiratory therapist and a Fellow of the American Association for Respiratory Care.
SAN DIEGO, Calif., Jan. 28, 2013—DME Data Solutions, Inc., has successfully launched its latest product, the CPAP Patient Data Analyzer (CPDA). This data analytics system enables users to manage clinical outcomes and create powerful “data mining” queries. “We’re extremely pleased with the results from our launch,” said Ken Ravazzolo, president and founder.
OWINGS MILLS, Md., Feb. 1, 2013—A new certification for durable medical equipment (DME) professionals, the Certified DME Specialist™ (CDME™), has been introduced by the Board of Certification/Accreditation (BOC). The new certification leverages BOC’s expertise in the individual certification field with their knowledge of the DME industry, gained through more than 20 years of experience with DMEPOS accreditation.
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 31, 2013—Nonin Medical, Inc., the inventor of finger pulse oximeters and a leader in noninvasive medical monitoring, has donated six Onyx 9500 finger pulse oximeters to the Evangelistic International Ministries (EIM) for use at the Hospital Centro Socorro De Lo Alto in the remote village of Sula, Honduras. The Nonin Onyx 9500 is the world’s first finger pulse oximeter with more than 1.1 million devices in use worldwide.
EXETER, Penn., Feb. 1, 2013—The Round 2 payment rates are shockingly low, unsustainable and the direct result of Medicare ignoring the auction expert’s recommendations and strong communications from providers, beneficiaries and even Congress to fix the fundamentally flawed bidding program prior to implementation. This type of result was predicted by the auction experts due to the fundamentally flawed structure of the Medicare bidding program. This program must be stopped!
ELYRIA, Ohio, Feb. 1, 2013—Late Wednesday afternoon when CMS announced the bid rates, you could almost hear a massive collective gasp of disbelief sweep across the country. One of the key things that these extraordinarily low bid prices demonstrates is that the 244 auction expert economists have been proven correct: CMS’ ill-designed bid program only incentives extremely low ball bids, because it’s a “do or die” situation for the bidding HME provider.
HALIFAX, Va., Feb. 1, 2013—As predicted by this writer, the Round 2 bid rate came in worse than Round 1. No secret as to why. Suppliers, petrified by this flawed process, bid for survival. The only way to do that was to bid low enough to be sure of a contract offer. The CMS program, designed by bureaucrats using no science at all, forced suppliers to submit these suicide bids.
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 1, 2013—It’s hard to recall a week with worse news for the home care community than what occurred last Wednesday with the CMS announcement about Round 2 prices. Home care providers pride themselves in meeting Medicare’s requirements by supplying top quality products with attention to first-rate service and professionalism. An approach to their business that focuses on the Medicare beneficiary is the key to success for many home care companies.
BALTIMORE, Md., Jan. 30, 2013—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced new, lower Medicare prices that will go into effect this July in a major expansion of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program. The CMS Office of the Actuary estimates that the program will save the Medicare Part B Trust Fund $25.7 billion and beneficiaries $17.1 billion between 2013 and 2022.
HALIFAX, Va., Jan. 28, 2013—The National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES) announces that it has acquired the Committee to Save Independent HME suppliers (CSIHME) and merged it into the national trade association. “We are pleased with this merger which will combine the resources of CSIHME with NAIMES,” according to NAIMES Chairman Wayne Sale.
TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 22, 2013—Quantum Rehab and Pride Mobility Products Corporation are teaming up with the Muscular Dystrophy Association for the 2013 MDA Muscle Walk season to raise awareness and funds for children and adults affected by neuromuscular disease.