tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92188837246823628812008-08-15T12:52:47.358-04:00Mike Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07292649916186406403noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-75515227174317279432008-08-15T12:30:00.008-04:002008-08-15T12:52:47.371-04:00

In mid July, just after Congress delayed national competitive bidding, I received an email from Mr. X, a well-known but secretive industry insider who delights in giving me a hard time. When his e-mail showed up in my box, I thought: Jeez, Bubba, what is it this time? He wrote: “Mike, what role will HME News play in getting the story out that with national competitive bidding delayed,

Mike Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07292649916186406403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-84495384897640562872008-08-05T16:56:00.003-04:002008-08-05T17:18:46.234-04:00

The industry yesterday was enjoying a bit of, "We told you so." The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report in July that calls CMS on the continued weakness of its enrollment and inspection process for durable medical equipment providers. As part of its investigation, the GAO "used publicly available guidance to attempt to create DMEPOS suppliers, obtain Medicare billing numbers

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-6836951639517451652008-07-31T16:07:00.005-04:002008-07-31T16:50:59.863-04:00

AAHomecare recently put together a report for its board of directors that documents its activities from February 2008 through June 2008. AAHomecare's Michael Reinemer joked that the report "is not likely to be made into a major motion picture anytime soon," but it's worth reading for a few reasons. First of all, it's a great synopsis of all the issues the industry has had to deal with, in the

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-67054043593461178232008-07-23T17:29:00.004-04:002008-07-23T18:07:03.020-04:00

A few providers who have been pawing through H.R. 6331, the bill that delays national competitive bidding for 18 to 24 months, have called us with some interesting clarifications and discoveries. One provider called us to clarify that some of the bidding improvements included in the bill don't apply to Round 1 of the program. The paperwork requirement (CMS must notify bidders about discrepancies

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-64689800419894644542008-07-16T15:03:00.002-04:002008-07-16T15:06:15.506-04:00

CMS has posted its first guidance on how the delay of national competitive bidding will work: The Durable Medical Equipment Competitive Bidding Program, which affects only Medicare beneficiaries in traditional fee-for-service in 10 competitive bidding areas, has been delayed. Medicare beneficiaries may use any Medicare-approved supplier for Durable Medical Equipment. If a beneficiary changed

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-32808978838610912082008-07-16T11:14:00.008-04:002008-07-16T11:55:20.446-04:00

We've had a few calls at HME News this morning from providers who want to make sure they've read the news right. It's official. The House of Representatives and the Senate voted late yesterday to override the president's veto of a Medicare bill that would delay Round 1 of competitive bidding for 18 to 24 months and Round 2 until 2011. The votes: House: 383-41 Senate: 70-26 Click here for House

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-91272697745508683392008-07-09T15:03:00.009-04:002008-07-10T14:37:17.466-04:00

There's been no shortage of media attention on the home medical equipment industry this week, between the Senate's efforts to delay national competitive bidding and a Senate committee's efforts to publicize a new report on Medicare fraud. Competitive bidding: The industry prevails Despite a critical opinion piece penned by Michael Leavitt, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-60235542928290598592008-07-02T13:08:00.003-04:002008-07-02T13:18:18.974-04:00

National competitive bidding is a train that has left the station, but it may be headed for an abrupt stop. Industry sources say the Senate, when it returns to Capitol Hill early next week, plans to pick up a Medicare bill that would delay competitive bidding and prevent a 10.6% cut to physician reimbursement. The Senate failed, by a slim margin, to move the same bill forward on June 26. As a

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-82859108164129893272008-06-26T07:13:00.006-04:002008-06-26T10:33:48.092-04:00

An opinion piece written by AAHomecare President Tyler Wilson titled "Opposing View: Fix the bidding program" appeared on USA Today's Web site this morning. The piece argues that a bill passed in the House of Representatives to delay and improve national competitive bidding would "save billions and preserve quality." Wilson's piece responds to an opinion piece written by USA Today titled "Our

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-28036354352591378782008-06-25T09:43:00.004-04:002008-06-25T10:11:09.375-04:00

The New York Times published a column today, "High Medicare Costs, Courtesy of Congress," that admonishes Congress for trying to delay national competitive bidding. The author, David Leonhardt, sends more than a few zingers the HME industry's way. Here are a few: *For years, Congress has set the price for walkers and various medical equipment, and it has consistently set them well above the

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-62664422016151908972008-06-24T16:34:00.004-04:002008-06-24T17:08:32.115-04:00

The House of Representatives easily passed a Medicare package today 355 to 59 that delays national competitive bidding for 18 to 24 months. As expected, to pay for the lost savings from delaying the program, H.R. 6331 proposes, starting in 2009, a 9.5% payment cut nationwide for all product categories included in Round 1. In comparison, as part of competitive bidding, CMS plans to slash prices

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-86103858115949620192008-06-18T15:35:00.002-04:002008-06-18T15:53:25.131-04:00

Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, haven't been able to agree on a Medicare package, but they joined forces yesterday to introduce a bill that would delay national competitive bidding and force CMS to improve the program. S. 3144 mirrors H.R. 6252, a bill introduced last week by Reps. Pete Stark, D-Calif., and Dave Camp, R-Mich. "A year ago, none of us would have thought this

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-30476048661989514312008-06-11T16:02:00.004-04:002008-06-12T11:47:33.707-04:00

AAHomecare has raised the stakes in its bid to halt national competitive bidding. On June 9, the association filed a federal lawsuit against Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt and CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. AAHomecare claims their implementation of the program has resulted in numerous violations of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-2717025138604138852008-06-04T21:27:00.004-04:002008-06-05T09:12:08.512-04:00

Congress is back in session after its Memorial Day/district work recess, and according to preliminary reports from industry sources, legislators can't afford to waste any time before introducing a Medicare package. One industry source says that Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee, plans to introduce a Senate version of the package as early as next week. That means the

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-3250716877110677352008-05-28T15:52:00.005-04:002008-05-28T16:01:39.500-04:00

Boy, did we underestimate the maze that is competitive bidding. By that, I mean little did we know last week just how difficult it would be to ferret out how many contracts national HME providers—Lincare, Apria, American HomePatient (AHP) and Rotech—accepted as part of national competitive bidding. By tallying the total number of contracts accepted by the nationals using CMS’s lists (Lincare 12;

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-90009454593725001872008-05-21T14:23:00.004-04:002008-05-21T16:07:36.537-04:00

As industry stakeholders make another go today at lobbying lawmakers to delay or repeal national competitive bidding as part of AAHomecare's fly-in, here's a friendly reminder from industry consultant Vince Crew: "Everyone is so consumed with competitive bidding, but I'm telling people they need to refocus on the business of doing business," he said. "Yes, they have this wrinkle called

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-81775556713129432552008-05-07T13:28:00.003-04:002008-05-07T14:10:56.012-04:00

It's only Wednesday, but it's already been a busy week for the HME industry. *The DME MACs on Monday published a FAQ on CMS's ATS requirement. The roll out of this requirement on April 1, 2008, was supposed to be uneventful, but thanks to shifting market dynamics and a last-minute decision by the powers-at-be to change the rules of the game (by allowing contract ATSs), providers have had more

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-54447609037969029582008-04-30T15:23:00.008-04:002008-04-30T16:22:35.181-04:00

The HME industry's on a roll: *All the lobbying on national competitive bidding has spurred two legislative committees to schedule hearings for May 6 and May 21. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., a senior member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and chair of its Health Subcommittee, will host the first hearing (An source recently characterized Stark as "a newly invigorated supporter"). A

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-79566788975398108172008-04-24T14:54:00.005-04:002008-04-24T15:11:32.119-04:00

In his race to win the Republican nomination for the 10th District of Pennsylvania, former Pride Mobility President Dan Meuser heavily outspent opponent Chris Hackett but still lost the April 22 primary, 52% to 48%, according to various media that covered the race. Spending in the race was lavish. Meuser loaned his campaign more than $1.8 million. Hackett loaned his campaign about $790,000.

Mike Moranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07292649916186406403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-37312663899237624982008-04-23T16:26:00.004-04:002008-04-23T17:03:52.166-04:00

CMS officials told congressional staffers yesterday that they disqualified 630 of the 1,005 providers who participated in Round 1 of national competitive bidding, according to AAHomecare. Then they said providers have no one but themselves to blame, comparing them to high school students who forgot to include their SAT scores with their applications. What an insult. Here's another analogy for

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-40921917029859972252008-04-16T16:49:00.004-04:002008-04-16T17:08:17.486-04:00

This recent Associated Press article about how the healthcare system may not be ready to care for an influx of 78 million baby boomers does a good job of highlighting Medicare's shortcomings. This pretty much sums it up: "The study said Medicare may even hinder seniors from getting the best care because of its low reimbursement rates, a focus on treating short-term health problems rather than

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-14863346433322113062008-04-09T15:04:00.007-04:002008-04-09T15:38:29.022-04:00

Wow. Did you see this blog on the Wall Street Journal's Web site today? It turns out the medical lab industry has sued Medicare to stop competitive bidding for lab tests (The agency currently pays set rates for the tests). In its lawsuit, the industry argues competitive bidding would affect patient care. Sound familiar? Here's the kicker: A federal judge yesterday (April 8) agreed to grant a

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-78912146214759403862008-04-02T11:55:00.002-04:002008-04-02T12:04:19.269-04:00

National competitive bidding continues to steal headlines this week. Some of the latest news: CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems on April 1 responded to Rep. Jason Altmire’s “dear colleague” letter. I doubt Weems’ letter will satisfy Altmire and his 122 colleagues. Weems continues to stick very close to the party line. For example: “I am pleased to report that small providers make up a

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-37434119294143514562008-03-21T14:38:00.007-04:002008-04-02T11:53:14.917-04:00

Surely, you're all poring over CMS's new competitive bidding prices for home medical equipment. If you haven't seen this document and this set of documents, download them now. The first outlines the weighted average savings by product category and by competitive bidding area (CBA); the second outlines the prices by product category (and all the items within each category) and by CBA. If you

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9218883724682362881.post-82606749776180446902008-03-18T16:12:00.003-04:002008-03-18T16:21:08.467-04:00

One-hundred-twenty U.S. representatives and 17 senators ended up signing two “dear colleague” letters demanding that CMS explain national competitive bidding’s impact on small providers of home medical equipment. The lead authors of the letters, Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., and Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, sent them to CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems today. For more information, see this

Liz Beaulieuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15795062179297883523noreply@blogger.com