HomeCare News

WASHINGTON—The National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology has announced that Don Clayback will become its new executive director, taking over the position July 15.

Formed in 2004, the group is made up of providers and manufacturers who advocate for products and services needed by those with complex disabilities and medical conditions.

BALTIMORE—Following an announcement by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration last week warning consumers of a tainted skin sanitizer, CMS is advising health care providers and their patients not to use skin products made by Clarcon Biological Chemistry Laboratory.

ARLINGTON, Va.—According to an alert from the American Association for Homecare, the Senate Finance Committee—which has jurisdiction over Medicare—is considering further cuts to oxygen as a way to pay for health care reform.

This year alone, the association pointed out, home oxygen providers have absorbed a 27 percent cut resulting from the combined 36-month payment cap and the 9.5 percent DME cut, both of which took effect Jan. 1.

WASHINGTON — According to Kimberly Brandt, director of CMS' program integrity group, there are now 51,000 DMEPOS suppliers accredited or with accreditation pending. Speaking at a recent meeting of the Program Advisory and Oversight Committee, however, Brandt singled out pharmacies as the largest group remaining unaccredited.

BALTIMORE — As the forward move continues on DMEPOS competitive bidding, stakeholders said last week they won't let up on pressing CMS to remedy the project's numerous flaws.

WASHINGTON — In April, the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America wrote CMS Acting Administrator Charlene Frizzera asking that specialized wheelchair seating cushions be exempted from competitive bidding. In May, the ITEM Coalition, a 70-group-strong disability advocacy, wrote HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about the matter. Now Reps.

ATLANTA — In a race against a swiftly ticking clock, HME stakeholders were lobbying on two fronts last week to generate congressional support for some sort of oxygen reimbursement relief.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Bluegrass Oxygen consolidated its billing and administration offices into a newly renovated 18,000-sq. ft. building as of June 1. The new facility, which also serves as a central warehouse and an intake center, now functions as the "nerve center" for the company's six locations, according to President/CEO Mike Marnhout.

ELYRIA, Ohio — Invacare Corp. has been named to Fortune magazine's 2009 Fortune 1000, ranking 983. The list is an annual ranking of America's 1,000 largest corporations based on revenue.

CMS' recent coding decision on negative pressure wound therapy will be the subject of a public meeting set for July 9, the agency announced last week.

TriCenturion, the Jurisdiction B DME Program Safeguard Contractor, said it has has identified a number of suppliers who are marketing what are often described as "arthritis kits." According to a June 5 notice, the PSC said advertisements for these kits — which can include multiple upper limb, lower limb and spinal "orthotics" and/or heat lamps — "entice beneficiaries and obtain physician orders by stating that the items a

On C-SPAN's June 5 "Washington Journal," HME provider David Heaton called in to ask Washington Post reporter Ceci Connolly her view of competitive bidding.

WASHINGTON--Following yesterday’s 79-17 Senate vote on the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the House of Representatives voted 307-97 today to concur in the Senate’s amendments and send the historic bill to President Obama.
 
The legislation gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products. a battle it has been waging since 1996 in an effort to deter youth smoking.
 

WASHINGTON--At the June 2 American Association for Homecare’s Legislative Conference, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said he hoped any health care reform legislation put together by Congress would include Medicare anti-fraud initiatives.
 

GENEVA, Switzerland--H1N1, commonly known as the swine flu, is now considered a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. Nearly 30,000 cases and 144 deaths have been reported worldwide, causing WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan today to declare the first global flu epidemic in 41 years.
 

RICHMOND, Va.--The 8.3 million confidential health records that were allegedly stolen when hackers got into Virginia's Department of Health Professions Web site could still be at risk. And the hackers are still at large.
 

WASHINGTON--Reps. Mike Ross, D-Ark., and Kendrick Meek, D-Fla., have sent a sign-on letter to their colleagues requesting that reform of the Medicare home oxygen benefit be included in health care reform legislation this year. 
 
Addressed to the leaders of key committees in the House of Representatives, the letter also urges no further cuts to oxygen therapy.
 

FARGO, N.D.--According to a notice from Noridian Administrative Services, the Jurisdiction D DME MAC has been monitoring claims for K0823 power wheelchairs, and the outcome on documentation for those claims isn’t so good.

As a result of the monitoring, NAS said it had “found the documentation submitted is insufficient to support even the basic coverage criteria for a power mobility device.”

WASHINGTON — HME stakeholders went to Washington last week with a message. Lots of messages, in fact.

BALTIMORE — Industry representatives said they left Thursday's meeting of the Program Advisory and Oversight Committee cautiously optimistic that their concerns about the myriad issues surrounding national competitive bidding had been heard.

There was, however, no doubt that CMS is intent on implementing the project, they said.