Archive: May 2005

WASHINGTON -- The National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology (NCART) has created an educational video that demonstrates how patients are fitted for custom rehab and assistive technology. The DVD is intended to help combat reimbursement cuts by educating payers, lawmakers and beneficiaries to the expensive, labor-intensive nature of custom rehab, said NCART Executive Director Sharon Hildebrandt. The 15-minute video focuses on Matt, a 25-year-old quadriplegic, and goes through the process...

Forty years ago, New York cardiologist Alvan Barach served as the physician patriarch of ambulatory oxygen by promoting home-based respiratory therapy. Later on, his protege, Denver pulmonologist Tom Petty, continued his mission of advancing respiratory therapy, serving as a staunch advocate for home oxygen patients. Now that torch is being passed once more, with Kentucky pulmonologist Dennis Doherty emerging as the successor. Doherty, professor of medicine and chief of the University of Kentucky's...

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives in April bucked the wishes of Republican leadership by supporting a motion to table the $20 billion in Medicaid cuts that had been agreed upon in the original budget proposal. The House voted 348-72-14 in favor of the motion, introduced by Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., the ranking Democrat on the House budget committee, which in effect squashed the previously proposed cuts and made way for a bipartisan commission to study the program. "The streak of...

BALTIMORE -- The six-week delay of Medicare's new national coverage criteria for wheelchairs (see story page 1) probably had nothing to do with CMS's decision to place its chief medical officer on leave, say most industry watchers. CMS placed Dr. Sean Tunis on leave in early April after he was accused of falsifying documents that showed he had fulfilled medical education requirements. Tunis played a key role in developing the new coverage criteria, originally scheduled for release in mid to late...

ANAHEIM HILLS, Calif. - By developing a 9.5-pound portable concentrator with batteries that last up to eight hours, industry newcomer OxyTec Medical is the latest manufacturer to raise the bar even higher in an already furiously competitive portable oxygen market. The OxyTec 900, introduced at Medtrade Spring and set for launch in the fall, is being touted as lighter, more comfortable, easier to use and longer-lasting than other portable systems currently available on the market. Its 9.5-pound weight...

LONGMONT, Colo. -- Sunrise Medical furthered its mission to reach 80% of the U.S. population with standard, next-day shipping by opening a sixth distribution facility in High Point, N.C., this month. Earlier this year, Sunrise opened a fifth facility in Worcester, Mass. By next year, the company plans to open additional facilities in Orlando (July 2005), Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago (early 2006). Before the expansion plans got underway, the company shipped 31% of its stock volume on a standard...

Q. What are the ins and outs of Medicare's new med dispensing fee? A. As of 1/1/05 the nebulizer medication dispensing fee HCPCS changed from E0590 to two options, G0371 for a 30-day supply or G0374 for a 90-day supply. The HCPCS E0590 was invalid as of 12/31/04. Here are some important points to remember when billing the dispensing fee: 1.If the medication was paid but the dispensing fee was denied due to incorrect HCPCS, you will need to resubmit the claim to review with the correct HCPCS appropriate...

ATLANTA, Ga. -- A new regulation, effective July 1, will require Georgia providers to be both registrants of NRRTS and RESNA certified to supply certain pieces of rehab equipment under the state's Medicaid program. While several states have adopted similar criteria for rehab providers through legislation or regulatory changes, Georgia is breaking new ground by requiring both standards in order to participate in the state's Medicaid program. The revised DME manual mandates that suppliers providing...

WASHINGTON -- A hiccup in the process of billing for respiratory medications and the newly established dispensing fee has caused more than a few problems for providers -- and a mountain of denials for one industry giant. "We have more than 10,000 claim denials for these dispensing fees," said Lincare's Chief Operating Officer Paul Gabos during an April CMS open Door Forum. Gabos said that the DMERCs, most consistently DMERC B, deny claims for the dispensing fee code when the time span between the...

LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Home Oxygen 2-U may have been a victim of its own success, growing so fast that it had a tough time servicing all the business that came its way. In June 2004, about six months after it began doing business, Home Oxygen 2-U leased 17,000 square feet of office space in Lawrence, Kan., and set up a call center. The company's cable TV ad campaign touted Invacare's Venture HomeFill, which is intended to provide respiratory patients greater freedom by allowing them to fill oxygen cylinders...