WASHINGTON — Last week at a Senate subcommittee hearing on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, AAHomecare submitted a statement for the record outlining its 13-point plan to stop fraud.
But during the Wednesday hearing, an association update said, the DMEPOS competitive bidding program "was discussed as if it were an anti-fraud tool and a panacea for Medicare reform."
WASHINGTON — While only 2 percent of Medicare beneficiaries live in South Florida, the area accounted for 17 percent of Medicare's total spending for inhalation drugs in 2007, according to an HHS Office of Inspector General report.
ELYRIA, Ohio — Invacare Corp. reported Thursday that first-quarter earnings were up compared with a year ago despite a decline in sales.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Last week Lincare Holdings reported net revenues for the quarter ended March 31 of $371.7 million, down 10.5 percent from $415.4 million for the first quarter of 2008.
Net income for the quarter was $26 million, or 36 cents a share, compared to net income of $58.2 million, or 76 cents a share, a year earlier.
LUBBOCK, Texas; BELLEVILLE, Ill. — The MED Group and The ROHO Group have partnered on a service that will let clinicians prescribe ROHO's therapeutic support surfaces and cushions for their patients with orders to be filled through MED's national HME provider network.
ATLANTA — Just when you thought you had all the newest rules and regulations under control, it's time to make sure you're ready for the FTC's "Red Flags Rule" on identity theft.
President Obama said Thursday the government will create a national electronic medical records system for the military that can be a model for reform of the country's health care administration. The president has emphasized EMRs as part of his health care reform plan. Set up by the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, an electronic record would follow military personnel "from the day they first enlist to the day that they are laid to rest," Obama said.
Senate leaders say they have struck an agreement for an April 28 vote to confirm Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of Health and Human Services. The Senate Finance Committee postponed its vote on her nomination after a hearing April 2, then moved Sebelius forward in a 15-8 vote last Tuesday.
The Board of Certification/Accreditation, International said in a press release Thursday that it would permanently suspend the BOC Footwear Specialist certificate program.
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice has launched a new home care public relations campaign, "Help Us Choose Home," complete with a new Web site (www.HelpUsChooseHome.com) that went live on March 24.
Uplift Technologies, based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, launched its Second Annual Charity Challenge April 20 to provide support for arthritis research and other charitable causes.
An amendment that would have set a $50 million maximum on the amount a whistleblower can collect through a False Claims Act lawsuit was rejected by the Senate in a 31-61 vote on Thursday. The awards can currently reach 30 percent of the total recovered for the government if a judge approves that much. Sen.
A Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll found that six in 10 Americans say they or a member of their household have delayed or skipped health care in the past year. The monthly poll found 42 percent of participants used home remedies and over-the-counter drugs instead of visiting the doctor, and 36 percent skipped dental care or checkups.
According to the Associated Press, bed bugs have made a comeback in what is being called "the biggest outbreak since World War II." Recently, the small, flat brown bugs have gotten back into the country via international travel. The Environmental Protection Agency held its first National Bed Bug Summit earlier this month to discuss the expanding impact bed bugs are having and figure out how to control the pests.
WASHINGTON--Senate Democrats were working toward a fast vote on
confirmation of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as Health and Human Services
secretary--the only remaining Cabinet seat left to be filled--but
those efforts were put on hold this morning by Republicans in the
chamber.
WASHINGTON--The results of a new study from the Christopher
& Dana Reeve Foundation show there are nearly 1 in 50 Americans
living with paralysis, almost 40 percent higher than previous
estimates. The study, which surveyed more than 33,000 households,
also shows more than five times the number of people living with
spinal cord injury than previously thought.
WASHINGTON--In a 15-8 vote this morning, the Senate Finance
Committee approved Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of
Health and Human Services.
A vote in the full Senate, which must confirm the nomination, is
expected later this week.
WASHINGTON — Ignoring pleas from scores of legislators, consumer organizations and HME associations representing thousands of home medical equipment providers, CMS refused Friday to rescind the interim final rule for DMEPOS competitive bidding.
The IFR, which requires a rebid of Round One in 2009, went into effect Saturday, April 18.
BALTIMORE — On Friday afternoon, CMS issued a statement regarding the April 18 effective date for the interim final rule on DMEPOS competitive bidding. The full text of the statement follows:
WASHINGTON — According to Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform, Congress has "been convinced before that a more competitive marketplace for durable medical equipment is the right way to move forward, and I think there is a way to do that and to meet them halfway."
