Meridian Medical LLC, based in Knoxville, Tenn., announced last week the acquisition of Air Lift and CareFore Medical, based in Evergreen, Colo.
Meridian is a manufacturer and supplier of gel overlays, seating/positioning cushions, lymphedema treatment and specialty support surfaces under the brands Gel Lite, Ultra-Care, Medi-Press, Core Comfort and others. Air Lift and CareFore is a supplier of respiratory accessories, oxygen and medical carriers.
HomeCare News
Medtrade Spring 2012 attendance hit 4,250, a 2 percent increase over last year, organizers of the show said.
“The decision makers with buying power were well represented at this year’s show,” said Kevin Gaffney, show director. “It’s a modest jump over last year, and it shows that providers are continuing to keep a positive approach as they search for solution in the wake of competitive bidding.”
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week announced the re-compete categories for the nine metropolitan areas in Round 1 of the Competitive Bidding Program. The HME industry is voicing concern about seemingly illogical regrouping of some product categories.
Existing Round 1 contracts, except for mail order diabetic supplies, expire Dec. 31, 2013. The re-compete bidding schedule will be announced this summer.
Aetna Better Health of Ohio has been selected by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to administer services in Ohio. The contract will be effective Jan. 1, 2013. About 1.6 million people are eligible for Ohio’s Medicaid Managed Care Program. Aetna Better Health was one of five managed care organizations selected to administer the program.
VGM Education and Emerge Sales announced last week that the “Mike Sperduti 7 Step Sales Process” course has been approved for IACET continuing education units. VGM Education has been accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training, and is authorized by IACET to offer 1.1 CEUs for the seven-week online course.
Health 2.0 announced last week that teams from Zenithech LLC, Avanade Inc. and Big Yellow Star won the Medicare Claims Data Developer Challenge sponsored by IMPAQ International LLC and the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. The competition was intended to spur development of interactive Internet-based tools to make Medicare claims data more accessible and usable for clinicians, health researchers, consumers, policy-makers, entrepreneurs and DME providers.
The Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) website is being reorganized. Officials said the changes are scheduled to take effect early this week. The reorganization is intended to make it easier to locate specific information, such as details about each competitive bidding round. Round-specific e-mail notifications and updates will be available.
RemitDATA Inc.–an HME industry expert in reimbursement, productivity and utilization data and analysis solutions for the outpatient health care market—last week announced a strategic partnership with Definitive Homecare Solutions, Ltd., developers of CPR+ billing and business management software for the HME, Home Infusion and specialty pharmacy industries.
Royal Philips Electronics last week announced the appointment of Deborah DiSanzo as chief executive officer of Philips Healthcare and a member of its executive committee, effective May 1. DiSanzo will succeed Steve Rusckowski, who will leave the company April 30, 2012. DiSanzo joined Philips in 2001 when the company acquired Agilent’s Healthcare Solutions Group.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced last week a proposed rule that would delay required compliance by one year–from Oct. 1, 2013, to Oct. 1, 2014–for new codes used to classify diseases and health problems. The codes, known as the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition diagnosis and procedure codes, or ICD-10, include new procedures and diagnoses and are intended to improve information available for quality control and payment purposes.
Officials announced last week that that 27 health systems have been selected to participate in Medicare’s Shared Savings Program, which supports the formation of accountable care organizations (ACOs). Created by health care reform, the program offers financial incentives for physicians, hospitals and other health care providers, including HME providers, to cooperatively improve care for Medicare beneficiaries and slow rising costs.
Attorneys representing Agape Medicare Management say the company is investigating complaints from HME providers about problems with submitting documents for Round 2 of Medicare’s Competitive Bidding Program.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently awarded Cahaba Safeguard Administrators, LLC, of Birmingham, Ala., a contract and two task orders as a Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC) for Zone 3--Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
ride on three other possible congressional actions, said lobbyists speaking at the April 11 AAHomecare Update at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas.
Possible vehicles for MPP include the impending Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, expiration of the Bush tax cuts and updating the physician payment formula, or so-called “doc fix.”
Medtrade Spring will move next year to the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, after three years at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, show organizers announced last week.
Mandalay Bay is located on the Las Vegas Strip, and offers 1.7 million square feet of meeting space. It will allow virtually all attendees to stay at the hotel, and eliminate the need to commute from other hotels.
Medtrade Spring is scheduled for Mandalay Bay in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Most HME providers who sell diabetes supplies know about traditional products—meters, test strips, lancets, shoes and compression hosiery. But as the number of Americans with diabetes increases, there is growing interest in diabetes products associated with lifestyle, nutrition, weight management and fitness. We’d like to know about LESS TRADITIONAL diabetes products that HME providers are selling.
Medicare officials last week backed off a proposal that would have required long-term care facilities to hire consultant pharmacists to review medications prescribed to residents.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Service has scheduled a national provider call on the status of Medicare FFS implementation of HIPAA Version 5010 and D.0 on Wednesday, April 25, 2-3:30 p.m. ET. It will focus on addressing the current 5010/D.0 metrics, recommendations made by Medicare FFS, and fixes impacting the Part A and Part B Version 5010 transition.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization recently released its 2011 Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America report. The report revealed that almost 42 percent of all deaths in the U.S.