MIAMI — According to Barry Johnson, RCP, CRTT, owner of Dallas-based Texas Medical, the latest goals for the Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America include helping to get more cosponsors for H.R. 1041 to repeal competitive bidding — and a congressional hearing on the program before Round 2 bidding begins.
HomeCare News
WASHINGTON — According to a July 12 opinion piece in Politico, it should be repealed and replaced. The authors say it is fatally flawed and will threaten seniors' access to care.
BALTIMORE — CMS has clarified its policy on the provision of DMEPOS refills. Effective Aug. 2, the agency said, beneficiaries must be contacted "no sooner than 14 calendar days prior to the delivery/shipping date. For delivery of refills, the supplier must deliver the DMEPOS product no sooner than 10 calendar days prior to the end of usage for the current product."
FARGO, N.C. — Suppliers who have been getting a number of B7 denials got an explanation Friday from Noridian Administrative Services, which said that on July 5, an error in the supplier file information provided to the Jurisdiction D DME MAC by a different CMS contractor caused claims to deny as if a supplier was not accredited.
ATLANTA — The sessions are all set and registration is open. See the entire conference schedule for Medtrade 2011 — more than 120 educational sessions in 13 tracks aimed at moving your business forward — at www.medtrade.com and take advantage of early-bird pricing for the show.
Featuring more than 600 exhibitors, this year's event will take place Oct. 24-27 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Otto Bock US HealthCare has announced its acquisition of 17-year-old seating system manufacturer Tri Quality. The company's 28 employees are now part of the Otto Bock Company Group based in Duderstadt, Germany.
Leading up to the purchase, Otto Bock had distributed Tri Quality's Nu-Tec planar seating for seven years.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — To help increase donations that will benefit NCART, NRRTS and AAHomecare, MK Battery announced July 12 that it will match sponsorships for its Power for Funding 2011 event at Medtrade — up to the first $50,000 — in addition to $50,000 the company has already committed to underwrite the networking event. Sponsorship opportunities are available ranging from $1,000 to $25,000, with proceeds going to each of the three organizations.
BALTIMORE — With contract suppliers scrambling to complete the competitive bidding Q2 Form C (due to the CBIC by July 29), CMS has posted some FAQs that could help, among them this question on an acquisition: I am a non-contract supplier and have purchased a contract supplier during the previous quarter. How should I complete Form C?
FARGO, N.D. — Noridian Administrative Services, the Jurisdiction D DME MAC, has posted Q&As on oxygen and oxygen equipment from its June 14 Ask the Contractor teleconference.
See the list.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Longtime HME veteran Shelly Prial, who for years authored his popular "Shelly Sez" column in HomeCare, just can't seem to quit working on the industry's behalf.
Now serving as Medtrade Ambassador, Prial is writing a series on creating a successful retail operation. You can find it in his "Shelly Sounds Off" blog for Medtrade at www.shellysoundsoffblogspot.com.
SAN ANTONIO — Wound care products maker Kinetic Concepts Inc. announced July 13 it has agreed to a leveraged buyout valued at $6.3 billion, including the company's outstanding debt.
The 35-year old company, which reported 2010 revenues of $2 billion, will be acquired by a consortium including London-based private equity investor Apax Partners for $68.50 a share in cash.
Part 1 of a Four-Part Series: The following questions and answers from health care attorney Jeff Baird of Brown & Fortunato are Part I of a four-part series addressing prepayment reviews; post-payment audits; a comparison of reviews conducted by the DME MACs with audits conducted by the ZPICs; and in the final installment, contractor abuses and the steps that the
WASHINGTON — As the Aug 2. debt ceiling deadline creeps closer, President Obama and congressional leaders continue to debate the issue, and industry stakeholders continue to watch and worry that cuts to HME remain on the table.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Responding to its growing base of respiratory patients, American HomePatient is creating a new facility in Longview, Texas, to provide patient support. The facility, which is expected to open later this year, will offer patients telephone contact to monitor their therapy and provide ongoing support.
SANDWICH, Mass. — With an eye toward further securing its future in an increasingly shaky environment, Cape Medical Supply has acquired six-year-old Seacoast Sleep Solutions of Kittery, Maine.
ROCKY HILL, Conn. — ATG Rehab announced July 1 it has acquired Baltimore, Md.-based Chesapeake Rehab Equipment, which has 13 branches in six Mid-Atlantic states. The move marks the largest acquisition in ATG's history, as well as the largest ever in the complex rehabilitation industry, according to a release, expanding ATG's reach to 41 offices in 24 states.
CLEVELAND — Well-known HME advocate David Williams, 62, passed away July 6 at The Cleveland Clinic due to complications from multiple sclerosis. Diagnosed with what he called "the nasty disease" in 1975, Williams chronicled his experiences living with MS in his 2004 motivational biography "Battling the Beast Within."
SAN DIEGO — ResMed announced July 6 it has acquired an Irish medical technology company that has developed a non-contact device to monitor sleep and breathing in the home and hospital.
WATERLOO, Iowa — CMS continues to report that competitive bidding is going fine since the implementation of Round 1 in January. But HME advocates say this interview with provider Jim Kokenge, filmed by People for Quality Care during VGM's Heartland Conference, presents a markedly different picture of the competitive bidding program.
WASHINGTON — Is a competitive bidding program for manufacturers on the HME horizon? According to a new report from the General Accountability Office, that would take a lot of doing.