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Tag: Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC)


News

In brief: HCD’s big buy, Brightree’s new leader, CQRC’s letter 

October 18, 2023HME News Staff

RICHMOND, Va. – Home Care Delivered, a provider of diabetes, incontinence, wound, urological and ostomy supplies, has bought the DMEPOS supplier business unit of Medline Industries.  HCD says the strategic move will enhance its market presence, expand its geographical footprint and provide access to a broader customer base, while reinforcing its relationships with patients, health care plans and manufacturers.  "By integrating Medline's DMEPOS supplier assets, we are accelerating...

Brightree, Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Gregg Timmons, Home Care Delivered, Medline


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News

Groups push for standardized clinical data elements 

October 16, 2023HME News Staff

WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care recently joined five other respiratory care groups in sending a letter to CMS asking the agency to require Medicare contractors to use a standard clinical data element template for supplemental oxygen to ensure beneficiaries, prescribers and suppliers won’t be overburdened with audits.  While the groups say they appreciate that CMS has developed a pilot program for an e-clinical template for oxygen, the current focus on electronic...

clinical data element, Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Oxygen, Template


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Oxygen template: CQRC enlists Congress 

September 12, 2023HME News Staff

WASHINGTON – Fourteen members of the U.S. House of Representatives have sent a letter to CMS urging the agency to clarify Medicare documentation requirements for supplemental oxygen and adopt a standardized template for documenting patient need, according to the Council for Quality Respiratory Care.  “We write to request that auditors accept the standard written order (SWO) as the only necessary documentation to establish medical necessity when auditing claims of patients who...

Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Oxygen, Template


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Dan Starck

Providers

CQRC calls for clear post-PHE transition

February 27, 2023Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor

WASHINGTON – With a “massive” number of patients starting on home respiratory therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council for Quality Respiratory Care is renewing its call for a transition period to ensure those patients don’t lose access when the public health emergency ends on May 11, says the Council for Quality Respiratory Care.  While providers are ready to move past the pandemic, much of that readiness depends on any guidance CMS provides, especially for...

Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Dan Starck, Home Respiratory Equipment, post-PHE


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In brief: PHE ends, CMS audits Medicare Advantage, CQRC calls for safeguards 

February 3, 2023HME News Staff

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has announced that the public health emergency will end on May 11, 2023.  Under the last declaration in January, the PHE was set to end on April 11.  “The advance notice goes beyond HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra’s previous guidance to health care stakeholders that the agency would provide at least 60 days advance notice before ending the PHE,” AAHomecare noted in a bulletin.  Knowing when the PHE will end gives industry...

Audit, Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Home Oxygen, Medicare Advantage, Public Health Emergency, Therapy


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Crispin Teufel

News

CQRC calls for safeguards to home respiratory access

February 2, 2023HME News Staff

WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care, is calling on the federal government to implement policies to ensure patients do not experience barriers to maintaining access to home oxygen, sleep and non-invasive ventilator therapy due to new paperwork requirements that are set to take effect when the COVID-19 public health emergency ends on May 11.  “The public health emergency declaration went a long way towards ensuring the more than 1.5 million patients who rely on...

Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Home respiratory therapy, PHE


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In brief: Audit update, CQRC comment, home infusion payment

November 11, 2022HME News Staff

WASHINGTON – CMS plans to primarily focus MAC, RAC and SMRC medical reviews on claims with dates of service outside of the public health emergency, the agency stated in a recent clarification.  CMS stated:  “During the PHE, flexibilities were applied across claim types. For certain DME items, this included the non-enforcement of clinical indications for coverage. Since clinical indications for coverage were not enforced for certain DME items provided during the PHE, once...

Aeroflow, Audit, CCS Medical, Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Home Infusion, Intuity Medical, Medline, Soleo Health


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CQRC makes voice heard

November 9, 2022HME News Staff

WASHINGTON – The Council for Quality Respiratory Care used a recent Request for Information from CMS to push for clear, objective clinical data elements for oxygen that are consistent with existing CMS-developed “templates” to ensure access to care for home respiratory patients.  In its comments on “Make Your Voice Heard: Promoting Efficiency and Equity Within CMS Programs, the CQRC also urges CMS to issue clear guidelines about what to expect after the COVID-19 public...

Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Home Oxygen


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News

OIG assesses telehealth risks, CQRC responds 

September 12, 2022HME News Staff

WASHINGTON – High-risk providers represent a small portion of all providers who billed for a telehealth service, but strong, targeted oversight of these services is still important, according to a new report from the Office of Inspector General.  The OIG identified 1,714 providers out of about 742,000 whose billing for telehealth services during the first year of the pandemic posed a high risk to Medicare, representing a total of $127.7 million in Medicare fee-for-service payments for...

Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Telehealth


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Crispin Teufel

News

CQRC: ‘Time is ripe’ on oxygen

September 9, 2022Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor

WASHINGTON – With local coverage determinations for home oxygen therapy anticipated in October, Crispin Teufel, chair of the Council for Quality Respiratory Care, hopes the industry will get more clarity on a post-CMN environment.   The CMS requirement for CMNs is set to expire Jan. 1, 2023, and the industry has been pushing for a simple template with clear and objective clinical elements, says Teufel, who is also the CEO of Lincare.  “There’s not a lot of time,...

Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC), Crispin Teufel, Home Oxygen Equipment


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