Archive: April 2003

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee House subcommittee put off plans to vote on an initiative to require rehab credentialing April 2 after stakeholders in the proposal disagreed on language in the legislation. The “Consumer Protection Act for Wheeled Mobility,” drafted by Permobil, was to require that any company providing prescribed wheeled mobility devices (except for K0001, K0002, K0003, and K0006 chair) should have on staff a member of NRRTS or an ATS or ATP as certified by RESNA. If...

Supply and demand drives market PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Of 109 transactions in the home care industry in 2001, 63 or 41% involved home medical equipment dealers, according to The Braff Group's report M&Annual 2002. That's a significant jump over 2001, when the HME market saw 44 deals completed. To see if the bull market on HME companies can or will continue, HME News talked to Dexter Braff to get his take on where things may be headed. HME: In your report, you stated that market multiples for HME...

WASHINGTON — The Bush Administration's plans to submit legislation that would've brought major changes to Medicare by ultimately eliminating the administrative law judge (ALJ) from an audit appeal, were sidelined after providers objected to the idea. However, another proposal designed to move the ALJ from the Social Security Administration, where it is currently employed, over to Health and Human Services is now at large in the House. The proposal is an effort to keep the ALJ independent from...

Ita-Med Gabrialla, the women's product division of ITA-MED, now offers lace-top thigh highs in two compression levels: 18-20mm & 20-30mm. Lined at the top with smooth silicone bands, they stay secure without binding. They come in three colors: beige, nude, & black. Bellisse Bellisse's new Compressure Comfort Bra for lymphedema and other post surgical needs features the unique, patent-pending Compressure Comfort System. The bra utilizes expert engineering, state-of-the-art fabrication, and high...

In the wake of one voice: One voice! With John Gallagher Q: With some saying that National Competitive Bidding should be incorporated into any new Medicare reform legislation, and Tom Connaughton leaving AAHomecare, is the HME industry message getting lost, or diluted on Capitol Hill? A: Absolutely not! Just because there is uncertainty with the changing of the guard at AAHomecare, that doesn't mean the defenses have been compromised, or that others should take advantage of the void and try to...

Scene I: A provider of diabetic shoes contacts a referral source, such as a podiatrist, and tries to persuade the source that he should refer his patients to the provider. What should he say? According to vendors, the provider's No. 1 selling point should be having trained personnel on staff. Scene II: A provider of diabetic supplies contacts a referral source, such as an endocrinologist, and tries to persuade the source that he should refer his patients to the provider. What should he say? According...

Having served as a physical therapist, lobbyist, advocate, administrator and lawyer, Sharon Hildebrandt has shown she's not afraid to leave her comfort zone to try something new. Now that intrepid spirit has led her to become the new executive director of AAHomecare's Re/hab and Assistive Technology Council (RATC). The Glencoe, Minn., native joins the council at a volatile time — new Medicare codes were due for submission by April 1, state Medicaid budgets are in jeopardy and mandatory certification...

WASHINGTON — It doesn't look like the Bush administration's plan to move more Medicare beneficiaries into managed Medicare programs is going to be an easy sell. As of March 1, fewer than 57,000 of an eligible 11 million beneficiaries had enrolled in the administration's pilot PPO program. Those numbers don't bode well for the administration's desire to see even more of the nation's 40 million Medicare beneficiaries move from fee-for-service to health plans operated by private companies, the...

At first glance there appears to be a dichotomy in the outlook for home infusion therapy. Market research suggests that it is a growth business and that the future is rosy. Yet infusion leaders, such as Denver-based Coram, have endured well-documented adversity and a host of providers contacted by HME News said they found the market very stringent. So if one sign points one way and another goes the opposite, what is the true direction? Slowly and steadily forward, say the infusion providers who...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — It went down to the wire, but AAHomecare's Rehab and Assistive Technology Council (RATC) met its April 1st deadline and submitted its second, and possibly most complex, batch of codes to CMS, said chair Rita Hostak. The RATC, assigned to the labor-intensive task of developing a new HCFA Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), submitted more than 20 HCPCS code applications at the beginning of April, the agency's annual...