Archive: January 2006
Speak as one
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
The mood was all gloomy and somber and black;
For Congress had taken another great whack
At the business that helps keep the ill safe at home.
The DME owners just sat there and groaned.
"What can we do, to prevent these disasters?"
Asked each to the others, as if they were masters
Of their fates, which were tied to Medicare's strings--
"There's nothing to do, oh no, not one thing!"
"Bidding will come, who cares who it harms?"
"And standards and cuts, despite all our charms."
"Then more cuts and...
CMS considers extra incentive for auditors
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
BALTIMORE - CMS may offer financial incentives to auditors who discover underpayments to providers. Currently, the Recovery Audit Contractors receive only a percentage of recovered overpayments.
CMS discussed expanding the incentives at a special Open Door Forum recently. The forum addressed the agency's Recovery Audit Contractors: 3 Year Demonstration Project.
The demo, mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act, requires the use of contractors to identify Medicare underpayments and overpayments....
Freight policy at Sunrise Medical...
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
LONGMONT, Colo. - Here is Sunrise Medical's new freight policy that took effect of Jan. 9, 2006:
- All orders (parts and products) placed on the company's Web site (www.sunrisemedical.com) or via electronic data interface (EDI), regardless of order amount, will receive free freight. Previously, the company charged a $10 freight charge for Web orders under $100.
Not only is Web ordering quicker, it cuts down on mistakes.
"It is almost a seamless paper process," said Bob Von Kaenel, vice president...
IFR delay: What do we do now?
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
Q. Now that the interim final rule (IFR) has been delayed, what do I need to properly document power mobility devices?
A. On Dec. 30, 2005, President Bush signed into law the Labor-HHS appropriations bill (H.R. 3010), which includes language prohibiting CMS from implementing the IFR on power mobility devices before April 1, 2006. The provision instructs CMS to issue a new final rule and hold 45-day comment and transition periods.
We have answers to some questions but not all. At this point, regarding...
Tracking equipment: Profitability depends on it
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
YARMOUTH, Maine - With lawmakers doing their best to eliminate the capped rental option for DME and to cap oxygen reimbursement, providers who track how long equipment stays in the field have a yardstick by which they can measure profitability.
Nearly 75% of 64 respondents who responded to December's HME News Poll track how long equipment remains in the field.
"Tracking is essential to determine the average time of payback on equipment and supplies," wrote in John Galvin, director of Kent Home Medical...
Tom Scully: HME lobbying lacks focus
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
Although this year's Senate proposal to eliminate the capped rental option for durable medical equipment and CMS's deep cut to the respiratory-med dispensing fee are harsh, they aren't meant in a punitive way, says AAHomecare consultant and former CMS administrator Tom Scully.
"This year, the industry just ran into some bad luck," he said. "Congress needed a big number, and it was there for the taking. Congress has a habit of going out and whacking things."
In the HME industry's defense, Congress...
When you use e-mail to reach customers, everyone wins
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
Q. How can we use e-mail to market our services?
A. Like having your own Web site, e-mail marketing can begin simple and then be taken to a very complex level.
For starters, I could never cover all you need to know about using e-mail to reach your customers. I would highly recommend looking for some books, using the Internet as a resource or even attending a seminar on the topic.
But let's start with some of the basics and what you can expect to learn and gain from using e-mail to reach your customers.
E-mail...
NEMED eyes full turnout at wheelchair pageant
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. - A regional HME association aims to have delegates from each New England state competing in this year's Miss Wheelchair America pageant.
With delegates from Massachusetts and Rhode Island already competing in the pageant, the New England Medical Equipment Dealers (NEMED) has set its sights on Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Connecticut.
"Basically, we're trying to bring to light how much people with disabilities add to the communities they come from," said Bruce Wishart, a NEMED...
Five ATG companies earn accreditation
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Five rehab companies under the umbrella of Assistive Technology Group (ATG) received accreditation in late December from the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC). The companies are AAA Medical in Lakewood, Colo.; Wheelchair Works in Portland, Ore.; Designing Mobility in Cerritos, Calif.; Wheelchair Center in Sacramento, Calif.; and Rehab Specialists in San Jose, Calif. Two ATG companies, Connecticut Rehab in Newington, Conn., and Design-Able in Bridgewater, Mass.,...
U.S. healthcare spending declines
January 31, 2006HME News Staff
BALTIMORE - The growth in healthcare spending in the United States slowed for the second straight year in 2004, according to a report released last month by CMS. Spending in 2004 rose 7.9%, slower than the 8.2% growth in 2003 and 9.1% growth in 2002.
The report was published in the journal Health Affairs. It shows that healthcare spending was $1.9 trillion in 2004, or $6,280 per person. It includes data through 2004, the most recent year for which actual numbers are available.
The share of the nation's...