Product categories for Round 2 of competitive bidding are similar to those used in Round 1, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced last Wednesday that is was bowing to industry pressure and excluding one type of wheelchair and two accessories.
HomeCare News
Despite opposition from the HME industry, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is moving forward with Phase 1 of a demonstration project to require “prepayment reviews” of most power mobility claims submitted beginning Jan. 1, 2012, in seven states -- California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and Texas.
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) announced last week its support for the nomination of Marilyn Tavenner to the post of administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
About 140 providers and vendors attended the Ohio Association of Medical Equipment Services (OAMES) 31st Annual Meeting Nov. 10-11 in Dublin, Ohio, at the Marriott Northwest Hotel.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has scheduled a provider call on Wednesday from 1:30-3 p.m. ET regarding Medicare fee-for-service implementation of HIPAA Version 5010 and D.0 transaction standards. The agenda includes: top 10 problems impacting the 5010 transition; status of current Version 5010 Standard System Maintainer fixes; top 10 Version 5010 edits; and Medicaid update.
Anthem Blue Cross/ Blue Shield of Georgia has relented on a March 1 deadline that would have restricted its network of DME providers to those using just three of 10 accreditation organizations that hold deeming authority for DMEPOS under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. This past summer, Anthem informed providers that they should be accredited by either the Joint Commission, Accreditation Commission for Health Care or Community Health Accreditation Program.
Paul DiMarco has been named to the newly created position of vice president-marketing for VGM Group Inc. Formerly operations manager for VGM Forbin, he will be responsible for VGM Utility Sales, VGM Creative, Strategic Media, Ltd. and Strategic Imaging, as well as VGM’s internal website development and content management. Jim Phillips, VGM chief operating officer, cited DiMarco’s expertise in technology, advertising and sales, as well as his knowledge of emerging media.
The state of Arizona has received permission from the federal government to cut its Medicaid payments by 5 percent, according to reports in the Arizona Republic last week. This follows a 5 percent cut approved last spring. The state has also tightened eligibility guidelines, and wants to limit hospital stays for Medicaid patients to 25 days, a proposal that is being considered by the federal government.
The CMS-855S enrollment application was recently revised to capture additional information. Suppliers should use the CMS-855S version (07/11) if enrolling in Medicare for the first time, reporting changes to existing enrollment, if asked to revalidate existing enrollment, and in other limited circumstances. The 07/09 version of the CMS-855S will be accepted through Dec. 31.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced today the timeline for Round 2 of competitive bidding, with registration set to begin on Dec. 5, and the bid window set to open on Jan. 30.
According to the release from CMS, the 60-day bid window for Round 2 and the National Mail-Order Competition for Diabetic Supplies opens on Jan. 30 and closes on March 30.
Other important dates include:
ZOLL Medical Corp., a manufacturer of medical devices and software, announced last week that the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health has installed 88 ZOLL AED Plus® units in Mecca, the Holy City, to resuscitate pilgrims who experience sudden cardiac arrest while participating in the Hajj, which is the largest pilgrimage in the world. About 4 million Muslims are converging on Mecca the week of the Hajj, which ends today.
Medtronic, Inc. last week announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of an investigational device exemption protocol to conduct an in-home clinical trial for the ASPIRE study of the MiniMed Paradigm® System featuring Low Glucose Suspend (LGS) automation. FDA approval of the IDE makes Medtronic’s ASPIRE study the first in-home pivotal trial of a closed loop system for Type 1 diabetes management.
ECS Billing & Consulting, Inc.’s North Division was recently awarded accreditation by the Healthcare Quality Association on Accreditation (HQAA). ECS is one of only three billing companies in the United States to receive this accreditation. ECS North had to meet the standards of HQAA in areas of medical billing, training and business operations.
Attunity Ltd., a leading provider of real-time data integration software, announced last week that Connecticut Community Care Inc., the largest care management service for the elderly and individuals with disabilities in Connecticut, has selected Attunity’s Managed File Transfer platform (RepliWeb-MFT) to secure and automate the delivery of service orders, electronic billing and payer information throughout their partner ecosystem of Health Care Providers and Servicers.
Basic American Medical Products, a GF Health Products Inc. factory brand, recently announced the expansion of 40,000 square feet of manufacturing space to its Fond du Lac, Wisc., facility. Basic American Medical Products is one of the largest manufacturers of healthcare beds in the world. Kurt Hellman, senior vice president of manufacturing, said the expansion was part of a Made in the USA Strategic Initiative.
The giant insurer Cigna is spending $3.8 billion to purchase HealthSpring, which operates a Medicare Advantage plan and Medicare drug prescription plans.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services has balked at repaying $4.3 billion erroneously paid in a Medicaid mix-up involving 280,000 beneficiaries.
Payments to home health agencies will drop about 2.3 percent in 2012 under a final rule released last week by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That amounts to about $430 million in reductions.
Drive Medical has acquired ActiveCare Medical Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of power wheelchairs and mobility scooters, according to an Oct. 28 announcement. Drive Medical also recently acquired Inovo/CHAD Therapeutics, a leading manufacturer of oxygen conserving devices, regulators and other respiratory products.
American Association for Homecare members expressed continued frustration over competitive bidding while meeting at Medtrade last week with an ombudsman representing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services bidding program.