Tag: Seema Verma
Verma on PHE flexibilities: ‘I don’t think it’s possible to go back to business as usual’
October 8, 2021Liz Beaulieu, Editor
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Seema Verma, former CMS administrator and a new member of WellSky’s board of directors, shares her thoughts on everything from health care software to PHE-related flexibilities to competitive bidding.
HME News: Can you talk about the role that providers of health care software, analytics and services play in improving health care efficiency and outcomes?
Seema Verma: Providers of health care software are on the frontlines, as they create the tools...
In brief: Increasing costs, Netflix fame, Verma appointment
September 24, 2021HME News Staff
WATERLOO, Iowa – VGM & Associates has sent a letter asking CMS, at minimum, to pay all HME providers in non-rural areas, including those in the 130 competitive bidding areas, the 75/25 blended reimbursement rates to help them offset increasing costs.
“Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, acquisition costs for many products have been rising steadily in the form of incremental price increases,” writes Clint Geffert, president of VGM & Associates in the Sept. 8 letter....
Verma joins WellSky board
September 22, 2021HME News Staff
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Seema Verma, former administrator of CMS, has joined WellSky’s board of directors. Verma’s experience creating national health care policies and developing technology standards will accelerate WellSky’s mission to transform care at every level, the company says. “Seema is a nationally recognized health policy expert equipped with a deep understanding of the complexities of the health care industry,” said Bill Miller, WellSky CEO. “With...
CMS bolsters efforts to reduce burdens
June 24, 2020HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - CMS has created the Office of Burden Reduction and Health Informatics to unify the agency's efforts to reduce regulatory and administrative burdens.
The new office is an outgrowth of the agency's Patients over Paperwork Initiative, part of its efforts to implement President Trump's 2017 executive order to “Cut the Red Tape” and eliminate duplicative, unnecessary and costly requirements and regulations.
“The Office of Burden Reduction and Health Informatics...
West Va. lawmakers weigh in on bid program
May 30, 2019HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - West Virginia's congressional delegation recently sent a letter to CMS Administrator Seema Verma asking her to be mindful of the challenges rural providers face in Round 2021.“West Virginia is a rural state and our seniors rely on the compassionate care that our small businesses provide, including home delivery, set-up assistance, and prompt service when problems arise such as floods, snowstorms and high winds,” reads the letter. “Without this type of service available,...
CMS's Seema Verma: Current bid structure 'not sustainable'
July 12, 2018Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - CMS Administrator Seema Verma says she wants to “modernize” the agency's long-standing competitive bidding program for DMEPOS by instituting market-oriented reforms.It's a major change in attitude for the agency, which has lauded competitive bidding and the savings it has created since the program was first implemented in 2011.“The current structure doesn't produce the best prices for patients and doesn't drive optimal performance by contractors, and it's simply not...
Providers meet with Verma
November 22, 2017HME News Staff
MODESTO, Calif. - Representatives of Home Oxygen Company attended a Nov. 20 meeting with Rep. Jeff Dunham, R-Calif., and CMS Administrator Seema Verma to discuss the challenges of rural providers in California. “Administrator Verma was very attentive to our needs and knowledgeable of our challenges,” said Andrea Ewert, president and CEO of Home Oxygen Company. “Our representatives were able to articulate the challenges of running a business and serving Medicare beneficiaries in...
In brief: MedPAC recommends CMS shift more products into bid program, AmerisourceBergen buys H.D. Smith
November 20, 2017HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - The Medicare Payment Advisory Committee made payment policy recommendations for non-competitively bid DMEPOS during a meeting earlier this month, according to Epstein Becker & Green, a healthcare law firm. MedPAC plans to recommend that CMS shift more products away from the “excessive” fee schedule to bid rates. It also plans to call for “immediate reduced payment rates for certain non-CBP products while CMS works on incorporating them into the CBP,” the...
In brief: SCA forms separate company, ResMed, ATS partner on grant
April 7, 2017HME News Staff
SCA forms separate hygiene companyPHILADELPHIA - SCA will split its global hygiene and health products into a new company, Essity.The forest products division will remain under the SCA name.As of 2016, 86% of the company is in hygiene and health, with 14% in forest products. Synergies between the operations have diminished over time, SCA said in a press release.Essity will develop, produce, market and sell personal care and tissue products, including the BSN Medical brands, which SCA acquired in...
AAHomecare 'encouraged' after meeting with Verma
April 6, 2017HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - Industry stakeholders had a meeting with Seema Verma, the new CMS administrator, on April 4, and they were impressed.The top topic at the meeting: industry efforts to fix the competitive bidding program.“Administrator Verma demonstrated impressive familiarity with HME industry concerns about the bidding program, and others in attendance were well-acquainted with the proposals in letters regarding the bidding program (that) AAHomecare recently sent to HHS Secretary Price, which...