WASHINGTON — According to Jim Tozzi of the Center for Regulatory Effectiveness, the theory behind various types of auctions has been studied by economists for fifty years — and he thinks CMS should have studied it a little harder.
HomeCare News
AMARILLO, Texas — Most HME providers know the term "corporate compliance," but many do not appreciate what a proper compliance program can do for an organization, according to Clay Stribling. Done right, an effective program can prevent problems before they happen, or allow companies to respond quickly and address concerns before the FBI or OIG comes calling.
ATLANTA — HME providers found themselves on another competitive bidding roller coaster ride last week as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it was holding up announcement of the Round 1 rebid contract winners.
BALTIMORE — CMS held a Special Open Door call Oct. 13 to clarify confusion over pharmacy exemption from DMEPOS accreditation requirements under new provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and the steps pharmacies should take now.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — According to show producer Nielsen Expositions, Medtrade 2010 will offer a full lineup for rehabilitation professionals, including the opportunity to gain continuing educational credits.
The pre-show conference, which takes place on Monday, Nov. 15, includes the following sessions:
DALLAS — Investment adviser Highland Capital Management, which has $22 billion in assets under management, announced last week it is now 100 percent owner of American Home Patient. The deal is the culmination of a series of transactions, including a self-tender of AHP's common shares and a restructuring of its senior debt of $216 million led by Highland that were completed on Sept. 2.
BALTIMORE — In a proposed decision memo issued earlier this month, CMS said while the evidence does not demonstrate that the use of home oxygen to treat cluster headache improves outcomes, its use "is promising." So the agency is supporting the therapy under certain narrow conditions.
WASHINGTON — Last week 73 defendants, including members of an Armenian-American organized crime ring, were charged with various health care crimes involving more than $163 million in fraudulent billing (but not for DME) in what was called "the largest Medicare fraud scheme ever perpetrated by a single criminal enterprise and charged by the Department of Justice."
BRYAN, Ohio — Gendron announced Friday that its assembly operations have moved to Bryan, Ohio, adjacent to the manufacturer's administrative offices. The company said the move is the second in the past five years in response to rapid growth in its bariatric business, including sales of two new beds launched earlier this year for acute care patients.
ELYRIA, Ohio — Krige Schabort of Invacare Top End's Team Invacare won the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii, on Oct. 9.
With a time of 9:26.04, Schabort crushed the previous record by more than an hour and finished ahead of all racers in the Handcycle and Physically Challenged divisions. He was 136th overall out of 1,800 participants.
The race included a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile handcycle segment and a 26.2-mile marathon.
BALTIMORE — A CMS Open Door Forum Oct. 14 confirmed what HME providers suspected: The list of contract winners for Round 1 of competitive bidding will have to wait.
BALTIMORE — On a regularly scheduled Open Door Forum this afternoon, CMS said it would delay release of the list of contract winners in the Round 1 rebid of competitive bidding. According to an agency timeline, names of the winners were to have been announced in September before implementation of the program in January 2011.
CMS' Michael Keane delivered the following announcement on the open call:
FORD CITY, Pa. — Three birds in a cage positioned over a nebulizer and an oxygen concentrator — that's what was causing the patient's distress.
"He was inhaling bird droppings," said Kimberly S. Wiles, BS, RRT, vice president of respiratory services for Ford City, Pa.-based Klingensmith Healthcare.
WASHINGTON — HHS' Office of Inspector General has released its 2011 work plan and, as in 2010, various investigations and audits of Medicare payments to HME providers are on the hit list.
The OIG said it will look at:
ATLANTA — Call it being fed up, or maybe fired up. With increasing vigor, the home medical equipment industry is blasting back at misleading media and government reports — and that is making a difference, industry leaders say.
ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Nielsen Expositions, owner and producer of Medtrade and Medtrade Spring, announced last week that booth space for the Medtrade 2010 Expo has reached its capacity. Medtrade 2010, the leading event for the home medical equipment industry, will take place Nov. 15 - 18 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
BALTIMORE — While HME stakeholders wait on CMS to reveal the names of those who won competitive bidding contracts in the Round 1 rebid — the agency had said it would release the list by the end of September — its preparations for the program's implementation haven't slowed.
BALTIMORE — In an Oct. 1 letter to state Medicaid directors, CMS' Peter Budetti, deputy administrator, said the agency plans to implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act to expand the Recovery Audit Contractor program in the states.
ARLINGTON, Va. — AAHomecare announced last week it has created a lower dues rate for smaller providers ($600 for those with revenues of $600,000 or less), rolled back dues for those with revenues between $600,000 and $1 million (from $1,050 to $995), and frozen 2011 dues at current rates for all others. The association also has a new monthly payment option via credit card.
BALTIMORE — Got questions about the transition to Version 5010 and ICD-10?
CMS offers compliance timelines, materials from national information calls and links to resources at www.cms.gov/icd10/.