Tag: Essentially Women

WASHINGTON – Supporters of women’s health legislation to increase access to custom breast prostheses and compression garments hope to gain needed momentum this fall to get their bills passed before the end of the year, they say.  The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act of 2021 would provide coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses. The House bill, H.R. 3087, sponsored by Judy Chu, D-Calif, has 15 co-sponsors; the Senate companion bill, S. 2051, co-sponsored by Sens. Tammy...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on June 15 re-introduced legislation to ensure that breast cancer patients and survivors who have had a mastectomy are able to access custom breast prosthetics under Medicare.  The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act of 2021 would provide coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses – which, unlike other prosthetic devices, aren’t covered by Medicare – to more than 100,000 women who undergo...

WATERLOO, Iowa - Essentially Women will host its annual conference virtually in 2021. The Focus: The EW (Virtual) Conference will host eight live sessions Jan. 25-28, and more on-demand sessions Jan. 29-Feb. 28. “We made the tough decision to go virtual this year,” said Nikki Jensen, vice president of Essentially Women. “We would much prefer to meet in-person, but due to COVID-19, we knew it would be in the best interest of all participants if this year's conference were virtual.”...

TAMPA, Fla. - Organizers of this year's Focus Conference want attendees to come away from the annual event feeling “refreshed and recharged,” they say.“Especially at the beginning of the year like this, they are looking for ways to grow their business in the new year,” said Nikki Jensen, vice president of Essentially Women, a division of VGM. “They can refresh and re-charge their batteries and (take home) what they learned.”This year's event takes place Feb. 8-10...

ATLANTA-While women's health products have always been a Medtrade mainstay, the emerging mom-and-baby market has received a lot more attention in recent years.In 2017, the Owlet Smart Sock 2, a device that tracks babies' heart rates and oxygen levels, won the Provider's Choice Gold Award; at this year's Medtrade Spring, a battery powered heating blanket took bronze.“Those two products, and more, have shown that HME providers can creatively tap into the mom and baby market,” said Kevin...

Based on statistics from the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in American women. Sadly, most of us can identify close friends or family members who have been impacted by breast cancer.While education, early detection, and advances in treatment have helped to decrease death rates since 1989, there is still a very high rate of newly diagnosed patients. This year, it is estimated more than 268,600 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the...

WATERLOO, Iowa - Essentially Women's annual conference will take place Feb. 8-10, 2020, at the Hilton Tampa Downtown in Tampa, Fla., offering education and CEUs.FOCUS: The EW Conference offers education on a variety of topics, including custom breast prosthesis selection, billing and reimbursement, marketing and opportunities in the CBD market. “Focus is all about providing our members with education tailored to help them improve their business,” said Nikki Jensen, vice president of EW,...

WASHINGTON - Industry stakeholders behind bills seeking Medicare coverage for custom breast forms and compression garments are gearing up for a pivotal August recess.Ahead of the recess, the Lymphedema Advocacy Group has been meeting almost monthly with lawmakers and their staff on Capitol Hill to drum up support for H.R. 1948 and S. 515, bills that would require Medicare to pay for compression garments, bandages and supplies to reduce lymphedema-related swelling and prevent recurrence.“With...

WASHINGTON - With extensive groundwork laid in past sessions of Congress, stakeholders hope this is the year that bills seeking Medicare coverage for custom breast forms and compression garments for lymphedema get passed.“We are encouraged by the reception—maybe we can do the right thing for women,” said Tom Powers, director of government relations for VGM. “There's a lot of interest in passing good public policy.”Similar versions of the Breast Cancer Patient Equity...

WASHINGTON - A bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate that would expand Medicare coverage to include custom breast prostheses for women recovering from mastectomy surgery, VGM reports.H.R. 1370 and S. 562, both bi-partisan, were co-sponsored by Reps. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., and Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, respectively.“We can do so much more to help survivors of breast cancer return to health and achieve...