Archive: February 2004

OCONOMOWOC, Wisc. - Bruno has always prided itself on groundbreaking products. Now it is breaking ground on a new 100,000 square foot manufacturing plant. The new facility underscores the suburban Milwaukee mobility products manufacturer's vision of unbridled opportunity in the HME industry despite potentially catastrophic Medicare reimbursement cuts and heightened government scrutiny of K0011 power chair sales. CEO Michael R. Bruno told HME News that he intends to reach $100 million in sales in...

ORLANDO, Fla. - Providers here say they recently got some insight into why things are going sour for HMEs in the Sunshine State. Members of the Florida Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers attended a town hall meeting on the Medicare Prescription Drug Act hosted by Republican Representative Virginia Brown-Waite from Florida's fifth district, and many left feeling offended by what their congresswoman had to say. “Pretty much she told us that we were all fraudulent companies,” said...

Feds arrest eight in giant wheelchair scam DALLAS - Federal authorities last month arrested eight people, including a doctor, for allegedly bilking Medicare out of $15 million in fraudulent power-wheelchair claims, according to the OIG. The defendants recruited more than 1,000 Medicare patients or obtained their insurance information and filed Medicare claims, said Jane Boyle, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Texas. The alleged crooks were paid for power wheelchairs but provided less-expensive...

YARMOUTH, Maine - A recent update to the United States Pharmacopeia could mean big changes for respiratory pharmacies that are already bogged down by reimbursement cuts and the foreboding average sales price. Chapter 797 of the USP, which took effect Jan. 1, is a revision of the former USP Chapter 1206 that sets guidelines for the operation and set-up of compounding pharmacies that work with both sterile and non-sterile products. With the revision, the chapter becomes enforceable by the FDA and...

PORT LUCIE, Fla. - The resignation of Liberty Health Care Group's president after five years doesn't come as a shock to providers: They describe W. Keith Trowbridge as a “mover and shaker” known for hopping from one company to the next, leaving increased sales and stock prices in his wake. “He always hits hard and strong,” said Marcus Kruk, owner of the Cincinnati-based HME Services, a provider of respiratory medications, diabetes supplies and CPAPs. “He builds companies...

ELYRIA, Ohio - Invacare rang up $343 million in sales during the fourth quarter, up 22% over last year's tally. Foreign currency gains made up six points of that growth, while acquisitions represented another six points. Net earnings jumped to $23.7 million for the quarter, up from $17.6 million last year. North American sales increased 25% to $251 million. Leading the charge was Invacare's respiratory group, which posted a 53% boost over last year. Invacare credited concentrator and Venture HomeFill...

March 1, 2004 COSTA MESA, Calif. - Two weeks after AAHomecare announced the launch of its new e-CMN initiative with Trac Medical and bConnected, Apria Healthcare has signed a deal with the new joint venture that should enable the country's largest HME supplier to start transmitting e-CMNs by the end of next month. As one of two architects that insisted on a suite of standards for any industry-wide solution, Apria has been preparing to move forward aggressively with an e-CMN solution as soon as...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Seven members of AAHomecare's Rehab and Assistive Technology Council last month jumped ship to form a new coalition with a directed focus on high-end rehab issues. The National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology (NCART) took shape in February as an independent membership organization formed to focused attention on the needs of high-end rehab suppliers and manufacturers. “The concerns of the rehab community were not being met by AAHomecare because it is a much more...

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. - It's nice being your own boss and not having to answer to anyone. But as Cindy Prauser found out, running an HME business alone out of your home can also be exhausting. That's why the 42-year-old mother of four sold her business, Prauser Medical Equipment, in December to Mt. Carmel Medical Equipment, a hospital-based HME in Pittsburg, Kan. “After eight years of being on call every day of my life, I thought I'd try to sell it and see what happens,” Prauser said....

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - So impressive is the new retail showroom at Gould's Discount Medical that it inspired one manufacturer's rep to rhapsodize “there's no place like this in the entire country.” Gould's Discount medical occupies 25,000-square feet of this new 50,000 square-foot complex in the heart of Louisville, Ky.'s hospital district. When it comes to retail, like real estate, it's location, location, location. He could be right. Gould's seems as much department store as DME. In a take...