Archive: March 2014

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare is conducting a short survey on the level of awareness among patients on Medicare issues and reform. The association will use the results of the survey as a benchmark to track the progress of its new patient awareness campaign, “Save My Medical Supplies.” Campaign resources and specifics will be shared in the upcoming weeks, AAHomecare says.

WASHINGTON - The National Association for Homecare (NAHC) is laying the groundwork for a possible lawsuit against CMS's implementation of the face-to-face requirement for home health, according to AAHomecare. The association says providers are frustrated with denials related to the face-to-face requirement and believe CMS needs to provide more guidance and clarity. Arguments for the lawsuit include: Claims shouldn't be denied for lack of documentation if it is present in the rest of the medical record;...

SOMERSET, Pa. - Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett recently visited DeVilbiss Healthcare's corporate headquarters here, commending the company for its efforts to bring jobs back to the U.S. Corbett met with the DeVilbiss management team, toured the manufacturing facility and addressed the company's more than 200 onsite employees. Bringing China-based product lines back to the Somerset facility has created more than 25 direct assembly, engineering and quality jobs, and several indirect vendor jobs,...

It's a little too early to go into too much detail, but a big focus at this year's HME News Business Summit, Sept. 7-9 in Minneapolis, will be post-acute care. Not HME, but post-acute care. There will be a number of sessions that will have something to do with this growing movement of post-acute providers banding together and with acute care providers for survival (if you think HME is the only healthcare segment that's hurting, you're wrong) and success (not only financially, but also from an outcomes...

A. Investing the time and effort in training and educating your sales staff has never been more essential to the growth of your business in this ever changing environment. Customer service will separate you from the big chains and big-box retailers. An essential part of customer service is education. Your staff needs to be proficient at explaining features and benefits of products so that customers can make educated decisions on what product will be best for themselves or the loved one they are buying...

A. It's not as clear as you might think. Like any metric, it's critical that you understand the key inputs that lead to your collection rate. Furthermore, being well informed about your measurement is the first step toward improving your results.A collection rate calculation needs to account for more than just total patient payments divided by total patient pay accounts receivable. Fluctuation in the number of patient encounters, age of existing accounts receivable, changes in payer mix, reimbursement...

A. Contrary to popular belief, your patients will use online bill pay if you offer it. The key is getting your patients and your staff to believe in the same methodology when it comes to paying bills online.  Surprisingly, baby boomers spend more time online than any other age group, according to eMarketer, a research analyst company. The 65-plus demographic has changed the way they pay—now your company needs to adapt that change and offer the right solution.  Using online bill pay...

A. Your organization is unique and the specific operational protocols established by your organization should be unique also. Despite uniqueness, a commonality exists between all DME suppliers when something new, such as the face-to-face rule, is established, and the most important operational protocol for all stakeholders with the face-to-face rule is education.CMS refers to operational protocols as those internal processes established by collaboration of DME suppliers and physicians to ensure compliance...

Mr. Watson's letter (“28-month delay will be disasterous for providers,” January 2014) was right on the money, no pun intended. It will be disastrous for providers, but the real loser here is the person who must live his or her life from the seat of a wheelchair. We have a number of clients who have rather complicated power wheelchairs. A number of the chairs were initially paid for, but Medicare has been retrieving money on those paid claims at...

If you remember The Roy Rogers Show, you might remember Roy's sidekick, Pat, driving the old Jeep nicknamed Nellie Belle. On occasion, Nellie Belle would get out of control and Pat would yell, “Whoa Nellie Belle.”Today, we have a different vehicle out of control: Medicare. Someone needs to holler “Whoa Nellie!” and put a stop to this runaway, out-of-control renegade before someone gets hurt.HME providers, hospitals, physicians, and home health and hospice agencies...