The stories you've loved lately

Theresa sized up the hmenews.com views for stories this month and came up with this list of Top 5 Mobility stories:

1. Scooter Store: 'Whatever is going on is not good for our industry'

2. Provide K0005? You'll need an ATP

3. Five-year rule haunts mobility providers

4. PMD demo: CMS may change stance on accessories

5. PMD demo details still up in the air

Four of these stories revolve around CMS and its mobility policies, whether it's shifting K0005 into complex rehab, requiring providers to replace rentals if they don't last five years, or the big whammy: the seven-state demo set to start Sept. 1.

The K0005 story got a lot of views very quickly. In talking with stakeholders and providers, most of you seem happy that K0005 will join the rest of complex rehab in being protected from programs like competitive bidding, and pleased that there are now safeguards in place ensuring qualified people are providing the ultra lightweight manual wheelchair.

The Scooter Store story and the five-year rule story continue to be popular hits for you guys, even though they were written in June. Obviously, what's going on with the Scooter Store—as the county's biggest mobility provider—has implications for the rest of the industry. And the continued hits on the five-year story make me think it's affecting even more providers than it seemed when I wrote it.

It's pretty easy to see the demo is dominating a lot of thought. It makes sense: While seven states isn't a huge chunk if you consider it's about 14% of the country, those seven states account for nearly half of the power mobility device claims. Also, policies set or explained during this demo process can bounce back toward the rest of the mobility world, since CMS isn't enforcing any new LCDs or regulations while trying out the prior authorization process. That means anything they say about templates or documentation applies to everyone.

So what this list says to me is that you guys are keeping a close eye on things that can directly affect your businesses and patients. Glad we've been able to help get you the news you need.