U.S. patients who experience a common type of heart attack were more likely to be readmitted to the hospital 30 days after discharge than patients in 15 other countries, according to a study in the Jan. 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
HomeCare News
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed a new method for contractors to receive medical documentation electronically from providers and suppliers when they are responding to an Additional Documentation Request (ADR), according to Jurisdiction B DME MAC, National Government Services.
The HME sector is losing its only public sounding board for discussing concerns about Medicare’s vast expansion of the Competitive Bidding Program, says the American Association for Homecare.
The Program Advisory and Oversight Committee (PAOC) expired on Dec. 31, 2011. The committee was created by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 to provide advice on the bidding program.
Congressional leaders have appointed a 20-member conference committee tasked with working on a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut and the so-called “doc fix” to ensure physicians' Medicare reimbursement is not cut at the beginning of March. The committee is expected to start meeting the week of Jan. 16.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued two announcements Friday revising and clarifying conditions for Round 2 of the Competitive Bidding Program.
CMS revised bid limits in the Round 2 Bid Preparation Worksheets for 14 HCPCS codes for power wheelchairs (K0813 through K0829). The previous bid limits listed in the worksheet were incorrectly based on 150 percent of the actual bid limits, CMS reported.
About two-thirds of HME providers in Round 2 competitive bidding areas say they will attempt to stay in business if they fail to acquire a Medicare contract in the upcoming competition, according to a survey conducted by HomeCare Monday.
Besieged for weeks by the HME industry, politicians and advocates for the disabled, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Thursday that it was indefinitely delaying a demonstration project that would have required prepayment reviews of power mobility devices in seven states.
The project was supposed to start Jan. 1, and the HME industry responded to the last-minute reprieve with relief.
The American Association for Homecare reported late last week that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had agreed that durable medical equipment Medicare administrative contractors (DME MACs) will change how oxygen claims are reviewed in audits.
AAHomecare said CMS addressed several concerns with the oxygen auditing process after meetings with the association and other stakeholder organizations.
The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) has launched a new service, “Front End Overhaul…More Traffic More Profits,” a program to help pharmacies improve their curb appeal and maximize revenue streams other than prescription drugs. The effort is being headed by Gabe Trahan, NCPA's new senior director of store operations and marketing.
To test system changes, Medicare claims administration contractors will be holding some institutional provider claims containing 2012 services for up to the first 10 business days of January 2012—Sunday, Jan. 1, through Tuesday, Jan. 17. Claims will be released as system testing is completed, and the hold should not have a minimum impact on provider cash flow because electronic claims are not paid sooner than 14 days after date of receipt, Medicare officials said in a release.
Vera Jackson has been selected as the new executive director and chief executive officer of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. Jackson replaces John Feather, who left the position at the end of September. Jackson brings with her considerable experience in nonprofit management, having worked most recently as the president and CEO of the Epilepsy Foundation Metropolitan Washington, DC.
The Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor (CBIC) has issued a new fact sheet providing antitrust guidance for bidders, and has removed four adjustable seat cushion codes from the Round 2 standard wheelchair product category. To view the fact sheet, visit the CBIC website and select Bidding Suppliers: Round 2 & National Mail-Order and then choose Fact Sheets.
President Obama has signed a two-month extension to the payroll tax cut, and also delayed by two months a looming 27 percent Medicare pay cut for physicians.
The president signed the measure after the House and Senate approved it by unanimous consent Dec. 23. The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 delays until the end of February decreases in physician payments while extending payroll tax cuts.
Kevin Fly Hill, a respiratory therapist and operator of CPS Medical in Texas, has been named recipient of the Robert Arado Outstanding Advocate Award, sponsored by the Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America.
Pride Mobility Products Corp. and Quantum Rehab of Exeter, Pa., recently offered 28 students with disabilities an opportunity to be mentored by career professionals in various fields during Disability Mentoring Day at Pride’s Exeter facility.
The National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES) is organizing a YouTube Blitz to show the adverse affects of Round 2 of the Competitive Bidding Program.
The organization wants providers to create videos that are 3 minutes or less, using a digital camera or FLIP video recorder rather than a cell phone. Providers are asked to use the video to explain how and why the program will harm their businesses.
A competitive bidding program for diabetes testing supplies is failing to provide Medicare beneficiaries access to specific types of supplies promised by Medicare, according to a recent survey by the American Association of Diabetes Educators.
Too many risky providers of DMEPOS are slipping inside Medicare’s purchasing system and operating for long periods of time without submitting proper documentation, according to a report last week from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
The Jurisdiction B Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractor (DME MAC) recently conducted a webinar on hospital beds. Materials, such as a transcript of the Q&A and chat, are now available on the National Government Services website.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services recently announced that states will have more flexibility to define the “essential health benefits” provisions of health care reform that establish health insurance exchanges in states. AAHomecare says this makes it important for HME stakeholders to work with state governments to ensure that home medical equipment and services are included as essential benefits. Comments about the announcement can be submitted to HHS by Jan.