YONKERS, N.Y., June 4, 2012—An article in the July edition of Consumer Reports concludes that medical providers are the key drivers for rising health care costs, and have the power to set prices for procedures at widely varying levels. For example, the article notes that the cost of a brain MRI can range from a low of $504 to a high of $2,520. A chest X-ray can cost from $40 to $255.
HomeCare News
NORWELL, Mass., June 5, 2012—Carex Health Brands has announced the acquisition of Uplift Technologies of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, along with the establishment of Carex Health Brands Canada. Uplift is a leader in the lifting seat and light therapy markets, with products marketed under the Uplift and Daylight brands. Carex markets products under Carex, Apex and Bed Buddy brands.
MONTOURSVILLE, Pa., June 5, 2012—Hub’s Home Oxygen and Medical Supplies, Inc., has purchased, effective May 22, CressCare Medical, with locations in Harrisburg and Carlisle. Todd Cressler, CressCare CEO, is moving on to other family interests in health care, but Hub’s will retain all other staff members.
WATERLOO, Iowa, June 3—An article describing competitive bidding as a “business killer” was published by the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, just before the start last week of VGM’s Heartland Conference.
PASADENA, Calif., June 1, 2012—Auction experts at the prestigious California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have published an academic paper concluding that Medicare’s Competitive Bidding Program is based upon a flawed design that will be difficult to fix.
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 1, 2012—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will release a national provider comparative billing report (CBR) on June 26 addressing home oxygen services. CBRs produced by SafeGuard Services, under contract with CMS, compare supplier billing and payment patterns to peers located in individual states and nationwide.
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 6, 2012—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has scheduled a special open door forum for 2 p.m. ET Thursday, June 28, to allow providers to hear information and ask questions about Medicare’s Prior Authorization for Power Mobility Devices Demonstration. To participate by phone, call 866-501-5502 (toll-free) and enter conference ID: 61960445.
The Board of Certification/Accreditation, International of Owings Mills, Md., recently released additional details regarding upcoming changes to the education and experience prerequisites for its orthotist and prosthetist certifications. The new requirements, which will take effect on Jan. 1, mark the fulfillment of a commitment known as the “Historic Agreement,” which can be found on the board’s website.
The Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation recently released research showing how home health care saves money for Medicare. The paper discusses the concept of “patient care pathways,” which detail the care processes a patient passes through during an episode of care. The paper, the third in a series, is available on the alliance’s website.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., last week called for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to indefinitely delay ICD-10 implementation for doctors and hospitals. He said in a white paper that implementing the new coding system could do more harm than good.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) last Tuesday published in the Federal Register a request for comments on the power mobility devices prior authorization demonstration project. The 30-day public comment period is open through June 28. The American Association for Homecare noted that the project is likely to start after Aug. 1 since CMS intends to notify providers at least 30 days prior to beginning the demonstration.
Invacare Corp. of Elyria, Ohio, is sponsoring the National Veterans Golden Age Games, which began Thursday, May 31, and continues through this Tuesday, June 5, in St. Louis. The games are the largest sports and recreation competition in the world for military veterans age 55 and older, the company said. More than 700 veterans will compete in sports such as swimming, cycling, golf, track and field, bowling and table tennis.
A growing number of health-related issues are working their way on to the agenda of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Hospital at home” programs are growing in popularity and providing good outcomes for patients, but Medicare is reluctant to institute more of them for fear of rising costs and inappropriate admissions, reports the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. However, accountable care organizations may provide an umbrella under which these at-home programs can operate.
Drive Medical announced the appointment of Rich Kocinski as the new president of its wholly-owned subsidiary Inovo, Inc./CHAD Therapeutics, which Drive acquired in October of 2011. Prior to the appointment he served as CHAD’S vice president of respiratory business development. Kocinski served as president of DeVilbiss from 1998 through 2005, and later was president and CEO of Inspired Technologies, where he developed and designed the SmartDose oxygen conserving device.
Jonathan Blum, deputy administrator and director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) visited Potosi, Mo., on May 21 to discuss problems related to providing HME goods and services through competitive bidding in rural Washington County.
The National Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES) last week expressed “serious concerns” with new product categories and groupings announced for the Round 1 Recompete of Medicare’s Competitive Bidding Program.
NAIMES questioned the expansion of categories and including dissimilar products within groups. “By including TENS units and commodes in the bed category, CMS is expanding categories much too broadly,” NAIMES said.
The American Association for Homecare last week announced support for the Medical Gases Safety Act, a measure that would improve the regulation of medical gases by allowing the FDA to establish rules outside the New Drug Application (NDA) process.
More than 1,000 home medical equipment providers, manufacturers and other HME industry leaders are expected to attend this week’s VGM Heartland Conference, beginning today and running through Thursday in Waterloo, Iowa.
VGM Group, Inc., and the law firm of Munsch Hardt Kopf & Harr are co-sponsoring a unique, complimentary webinar in which a representative of the Senate Finance Committee will hear comments from industry stakeholders about government efforts to curb fraud and abuse. The webinar is scheduled for noon-1 p.m. CDT on May 31. It will feature Kimberly Brandt, chief investigative counsel, U.S.