Archive: October 2004

WASHINGTON - The Senate Appropriations Committee turned up the heat on CMS in September when it followed the House of Representative's lead and “strongly encouraged” Medicare to develop unambiguous coverage criteria for power wheelchairs. In part, the Senate language reads: The Committee strongly encourages CMS to use its resources toward development of a coverage policy firmly based on a functional standard of nonambulatory. The Committee believes beneficiaries who cannot perform their...

As the DMERC's senior and arguably its most respected medical director, chances are you'll find Dr. Adrian Oleck's fingerprints all over most medical policies for durable medical equipment. That kind of influence can't be under estimated. When it comes to deciding what a beneficiary is eligible for and what Medicare will and will not pay for, Oleck's the key gatekeeper. DMERC medical directors all have their areas of interest and take the lead on certain issues, but in most instances, he's the...

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. - Two years after Patient Advocate Home Care joined Teamsters Local 142, its business has tripled, and employee morale has skyrocketed, thanks in part to an improved benefits package, says owner Dan Buikema. The $1.2 million HME located in union-friendly northwest Indiana has recently expanded its reach to the southern part of the state with the opening of its Greensburg location. Buikema expects to expand to Indianapolis and South Bend by the end of the year and said the company's...

TEMPE, Ariz. - A year after its major investor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, O2 Science regained its footing by securing $10.2 million in financing. The cash infusion allowed the company to eliminate $250,000 a month in interest payments and resume its acquisition activity, said O2 Science CEO Mark Hanley. “I don't know if anyone thought we were down and out, but they might have thought we were in trouble,” Hanley said recently. “We are now in much stronger financial shape,...

WASHINGTON - Many seating and positioning products that were to receive new K codes and allowables by Oct. 1 have not yet been reviewed by the SADMERC. As a result, providers will not be able to supply them to beneficiaries, according to AAHomecare's Rehab and Assistive Technology Council. The codes went into effect July 1, but CMS gave providers a 90 day grace period before they had to start using them. By the end of the grace period, Oct. 1, the SADMERC was to have developed allowables and assigned...

For the influence that Bill Thomas has exerted over the DME industry, look no further than this remark by one of the leading CEO's in this industry: “Thomas has a total distaste for our industry. It's amazing to me that one Congressman can have this much impact on an industry.” If it wasn't for Bill Thomas, there'd be no competitive bidding. No other member of Congress harbors the same passion for it or has been so peculiarly poised to bring it life. Since January 2001, Thomas has chaired...

Is your company over staffed? With Gina Bienkowski Q. Our payroll expense seems to be getting out of hand. How do we know when we have the right number of people? A. It's easy to add bodies to a problem, especially when the company is growing. The easiest way to be sure you don't over staff is to monitor your revenue per employee. This is a simple calculation that looks at the productivity of your staff. Start by calculating the number of “full-time equivalent employees” working for...

Just received my September issue of HME News today and wanted to congratulate you and thank you for the white paper on the state of the industry. There were some very informative graphs in the insert and valuable information. I look forward to reading HME each month and will look forward to an even better more detailed state of the industry report in 2005. - Joseph Sunderland works at Apria in Hawaii No more fraud Re: ‘More HME scandal brews in Florida' (see recent news story and HME Newswire...

This year's Medtrade show could hardly be more charged. In addition to all the new products and seminars you'll encounter, Election 2004 is just one week away. Will it be Bush or Kerry? And which is best for the HME industry? In this partisan battle for the White House, be careful with whom you express your views. Tempers and emotions run hot on both sides the aisle, Medtrade's included. If that weren't enough, deep reimbursement cuts as mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act are scheduled to...

Critical Home Care moves into N.C. SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Critical Home Care acquired Trinity Healthcare, a North Carolina-based durable medical equipment company in September. With locations in Winston Salem and Huntersville, N. C., and Marietta and Demorest, Ga., Trinity provides oxygen and other respiratory services, as well as such durable medical equipment as wheelchairs and hospital beds. It employs more than 50 people. This is the fourth acquisition for Critical Home Care in recent weeks. This...