Neighborhood Health Plan and Sleep Management Solutions, LLC, a CareCentrix company, last week announced a partnership. As of May 1, Sleep Management Solutions will manage sleep diagnostic and therapy management services for Neighborhood Health Plan’s 240,000 members in Massachusetts.
HomeCare News
Omnicell, Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., a leading provider of medication and supply management systems and analytics software for health care systems, announced last week that it has completed acquisition of MTS Medication Technologies, Inc., a leader in innovative medication adherence packaging systems. Omnicell expects to expand its medication management platform beyond the acute care setting to include the long-term care and home care markets both nationally and internationally.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee announced last week that it has reached agreements with four orthopedic practices for a new bundled payment system that focuses on patient care, quality and outcomes for total knee and hip replacements. Participating practices are Vanderbilt Medical Group and Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance in Nashville, Campbell Clinic in Memphis and the Knoxville Orthopaedic Clinic.
ResMed, Inc., of San Diego, a large provider of respiratory and CPAP products and services, last week announced plans to initiate a dividend beginning in fiscal year 2013. The company expects to initiate a quarterly dividend of $0.17 per share. "Over the past several years, we have used some of our cash to invest in our business through increased research and development, market development, acquisitions and capital expenditures," Peter C.
Home Health International, Inc., of Vero Beach, Fla., announced May 21 that it has completed the acquisition of Faya's Medical Equipment, Inc., a licensed Florida-based durable medical equipment company. Faya's Medical is located in Hialeah, Fla., and provides ambulation aids, disposable supplies, mobility aids, respiratory equipment and sickroom setup. The DME company has been in business since 2006.
Mark Higley, vice president-development for VGM Group, Inc., received the Christopher J. Denmark Commitment to Excellence award at the New England Medical Equipment Dealers Association’s (NEMED) 24th annual meeting May 17.
A new study released last week during the American Thoracic Society Conference in San Francisco associated sleep apnea and increased risk of cancer mortality.
Previous studies have associated sleep apnea with increased risks of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, depression and early death.
The American Association for Homecare last week submitted comments to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services recommending a one-year delay in the implementation of the ICD-10 code set.
AAHomecare also recommended that CMS:
• Continue the policy of allowing providers to use information in their records to migrate to a more specific ICD-10 code if the information supports use of that code.
The National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES) reported last week that a list of providers that have closed because of Round 1 of competitive bidding now stands at 324.
The list is being compiled at the request of members of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, which recently conducted a hearing on competitive bidding. During the hearing, NAIMES raised the issue of HME providers going out of business.
The American Association for Homecare expressed “grave concern” last week to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) over new product categories devised for the Competitive Bidding Program’s Round 1 Recompete.
H.D. Smith, one of the nation's largest pharmaceutical wholesalers, recently announced a three-year prime vendor agreement with PharmacyGPO, a buying group for independent community pharmacies. H.D. Smith will be the exclusive supplier of a full line of products including pharmaceuticals, health and wellness products and durable medical equipment for PharmacyGPO.
Inogen, Inc., of Santa Barbara, Calif., a manufacturer and home care provider of oxygen therapy, recently announced that it has secured $20 million in equity financing from investors led by Novo A/S. The money will support Inogen’s continued growth. Specifically, the company said it will use the capital to expand sales and patient support resources, spread awareness among oxygen therapy users and solidify its market position through research and development.
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) and the Home Care & Hospice Financial Managers Association (HHFMA) have released the Uniform Chart of Accounts in an effort to create uniformity in financial reporting.
VGM’s Heartland Conference has added a special section for providers in the original nine areas where Medicare’s Competitive Bidding program was implemented. “Round 1 Recompete” will be presented by Mark Higley, VGM vice president-development, June 5 from 3:15 to 4:45 p.m. More information and the complete conference schedule and fees are available on the VGM website.
The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness recently released a paper warning that Medicare’s competitive bidding programs will likely be applied to a host of other medical sectors, including medical labs and physicians. The paper can be viewed on the organization’s website.
Tyler Wilson, AAHomecare president, last week testified before a panel of U.S. Treasury and IRS staff that all HME devices and supplies should be included under a safe harbor provision protecting them from a 2.3 percent medical device tax set for enactment next year. Wilson said all HME devices are “generally purchased by the general public at retail for individual use,” as required by the safe harbor provision.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week issued the final draft of an ambitious plan to improve the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and find a method to prevent it by 2025.
The National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES) issued a reminder last week that May 23 is the deadline for submitting comments that will be included in a hearing on competitive bidding conducted May 9 by the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee.
“Every state has a unique story about the impact of bidding on their members and these compelling facts should be included in the record,” NAIMES said.
Rotech Healthcare, Inc., of Orlando, a large provider of respiratory therapy and HME products, last week reported that it had identified an error in its billing system that resulted in overpayment of Medicare claims. The overpayments totaled about $2.2 million each fiscal year for 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The American Association for Homecare last week released an issue paper on the Medicare power mobility device demonstration project, and emphasized the need for a clinical template allowing physicians to complete and document their face-to-face examination of patients.