Archive: February 2005
Dave Kazynski provides VGM ‘link’ to PAOC
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
Dave Kazynski
Dave Kazynski's career has gone from repairing wheelchairs to hospital CFO to president of VGM's national managed care network. Now he's applying what he's learned to the Program Advisory and Oversight Committee, which he's been a member of since it started as a competitive bidding think tank in September 2004.
“I have a different perspective than others on the committee, and I think I can share that with the group,” said the president of VGM's Homelink division, a title...
Industry welcomes NCD changes
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Industry watchers gave a cautious nod of approval to CMS last month for releasing draft coverage criteria for power wheelchairs that would deep-six the current bed-or-chair confined rule and require Medicare to rely more on clinical-based coverage. They then dove into the document in an all-out effort to uncover its flaws.
D. Clayback
“It is a very good step in the right direction,” said Mark Miller, executive vice president of marketing for Independent Living Aids in Ringgold,...
Colours rolls into new digs
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
CORONA, Calif. - With revenues of just under $3 million a year, wheelchair manufacturer Colours ‘N Motion is one of the HME world's “small guys,” but that doesn't mean the company isn't out to do big things, said President John Box.
The Spazz
On Jan. 1, Colours, whose manual chairs roll along the cutting edge of fashion and design and carry names like Boing! and Spazz, moved from its long-time Anaheim location into a new facility in Corona. At 15,000 square feet, the new home is twice...
Wave bye to the AOB
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Medicare providers received a paperwork break Jan. 1 courtesy of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.
As of Jan. 1, 2005, a signed assignment of benefits (AOB) form does not have to be obtained from a beneficiary when a service can only be paid on as assignment-related basis. This includes any mandatory assignment situations and participating physician or supplier situations, according to CMS.
Beware: NSC jumps on HMEs slow to fix supplier infractions
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
COLUMBIA, S.C. - HMEs who have their Medicare provider numbers deactivated could end up with an unanticipated cash crunch even after the National Supplier Clearinghouse reinstates them.
In the past, once the NSC reactivated a provider's supplier number, he generally could bill retroactively to the date of deactivation. That is no longer the case, say industry attorneys.
“They have changed the policy, and it has hurt a lot of people because in good faith they continued to provide service,...
Invacare restructures management
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
ELYRIA, Ohio - Acknowledging that Invacare “is now a global business,” the HME manufacturing titan recently underwent extensive managerial restructuring to reflect its international scope. Under the new configuration, Invacare is poised to “more aggressively develop new markets and channels while addressing cost reduction issues on a global basis,” company officials said.
Mal Mixon
Due to the success of the HomeFill II oxygen system, respiratory is Invacare's fastest-growing...
Lymphedema legislation to land on Hill
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
LAS VEGAS - Cyndi Ortiz, owner of Nevada Vascular and Lymphatic Specialty Company, is a shining example of what the HME industry stands to gain from its grassroots efforts. After nearly three years of phone calls and letters, she has secured sponsorship in Congress for her patient's rights legislation.
Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., and Rep. Shelly Berkley, D-Nev., have both agreed to co-sponsor Ortiz's bill, which seeks to mandate coverage of disease management treatments for vascular disease and lymphedema.
Sen....
Politics
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
The CMN's future
with Asela Cuervo
A. Cuervo
Q. In January, CMS requested comments on CMN changes submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) review. What changes might we expect?
A. Over the last several years, PRA reviews for CMNs had become routine. There have been few changes in their format or the questions on the forms. The PRA review focused mostly on CMS' justification for the CMNs and the supplier community's assessment of the relative burdens...
Road trip: Provider drives 16 hours to pick up a patient
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
LAKE HAVASU, Ariz. - Jim Goldman received an unusual request in early December: How would you like to drive eight hours to Odessa, Texas, pick up an oxygen patient at the local hospital and drive him back to his home in Lake Havasu?
“I wasn't going to do it,” said Goldman, who owns Havasu Medical. “They said it was going to be eight hours each way, but I looked it up on maps.com and found out it was going to be 16 hours one way.”
Then he remembered why he got into the business:...
Footwear guidance still missing in 2005
February 28, 2005HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The wait continues for DME providers and pharmacists concerned about their status as qualified therapeutic footwear fitters.
Despite actions last year by the National supplier Clearinghouse that suggested a change was imminent, CMS had yet to issue an update by early 2005, as some industry watchers expected.
“Nothing has happened yet, but you never know. A change could come in three days, three months or three years,” said Bill Popomaronis, the National Community Pharmacists...