Archive: September 2006
Arcadia expands
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Arcadia Resources acquired Lovell Medical Supply with locations in Mount Airy, North Wilkesboro and Statesville, N.C., and Alliance Oxygen and Medical Equipment with locations in Naples, Sarasota and Englewood, Fla. Terms of the deals were not disclosed, but Lovell and Alliance generate about $3 million and $5.4 million in annual sales, respectively. Both acquisitions help Arcadia "capitalize on the $5 billion home respiratory equipment market," say company officials.
State may change bidding proposal
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania providers, advocates and beneficiaries turned out in droves at a recent series of statewide town meetings hosted by the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) to voice concerns on a proposal to competitively bid DME.
As a result, state Medicaid officials announced its selective contracting RFP would be delayed at least two weeks, until mid-September.
Dave Fiorini, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Medical Equipment Suppliers (PAMS), hailed the public...
Scooter Store: Quality standards 'lack specificity'
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - In an Aug. 25 statement from its CEO Doug Harrison, The Scooter Store expressed disappointment with CMS's final quality standards. Harrison said the standards "lacked the specificity and detail needed to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries receive quality equipment and service from suppliers of DME." Harrison pointed out that the final standards differ significantly from the draft standards proposed last year: They don't require that providers submit a compliance program, for...
Can Rotech turn itself around?
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
Orlando, Fla. - Despite plunging revenues, don't count Rotech out just yet, says CEO Phil Carter.
In August, the company reported losses of $433.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2006, and revenues of $256.3 million.
Net revenues were negatively impacted by a $17.5 million set-aside to cover a slowdown in accounts receivable; a $449 million non-cash impairment charge that was recorded as an operating expense; and Medicare cuts reduced net revenue by $28.5 million.
"Aside from these three...
Ask the PSC MDs
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
Many of the columns for the past few months have focused on power mobility issues. This month we will look at a potpourri of topics that come our way. Most of the questions we address are general in nature. We select them that way to be applicable to the broadest audience. Some of the following are more specific and technical, but we think you will find them interesting and useful.
Q. Currently, if a respiratory assist device without back-up rate (E0470) is billed and the LCD criteria are not met...
Paying well creates dividends
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
YARMOUTH, Maine - Good employees can make or break a business and providers must keep up with skyrocketing labor costs to stay competitive.
According to a recent Labor Department report, labor costs have jumped 3.2% in the past 12 months, after average yearly increases of only 0.8% from 2000 to 2005.
Employees are the company face for many providers and paying well creates dividends, said Rick Perrotta, president of Network Medical Supply in Charlotte, N.C.
"We pay our guys 1.5 to almost twice the...
Is it illegal to charge Medicare more?
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
Q. A competitor is threatening to report my company to Medicare because we bill Medicare more than we charge walk-in retail customers for the same items. Is that illegal?
A. Not necessarily. The Medicare statute prohibits a provider from submitting claims to Medicare that are "substantially in excess of such individual's or entity's usual charges." The penalty for violation of this prohibition is exclusion from the Medicare and Medicaid programs. However, enforcement of this statute has always been...
PLAINVIEW, N.Y. - With several new products that debuted last month, Fastrack Healthcare Systems began going after HME business that until now had been out of its reach.
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
DECATUR, Ala. - ResMed and Letco have married their individual technologies with two key goals in mind: Prove the effectiveness of CPAP therapy and help providers boost their sleep referrals.
The partnership combines ResMed's Apnea Link, a home-based unit that records apneas, with Letco's Internet technology, used until now to transmit overnight oximetry results to independent testing facilities.
"For me, it's about going after the undiagnosed patient group," said Mick Farrell, ResMed's vice president...
Desert Medical adds liquid oxygen
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
LAS VEGAS - Desert Medical Equipment, a Las Vegas provider that caters to high-profile hotels like the Bellagio, added liquid oxygen reservoirs to its rental resume in August.
"Now we do everything oxygen-related," said owner Bryan Schultz, who also rents scooters and wheelchairs from his prominent location on the Strip. "We saw a big need for it. We were turning people away, and now we don't have to."
Desert Medical provides a variety of liquid oxygen services, depending on a user's needs. The...
Scaling the Summit
September 30, 2006HME News Staff
How would you like to boost your CPAP business by thousands of dollars a month? Or cut your fuel costs by 30%? Or reduce your delivery expenses--not to mention salary and benefits--by partnering with a courier service? Or how about enabling your office staff to spend more time at their desks doing work and less time walking around searching for patient information? And how would you like to do all this with a 200%, 300% and even 400% return on your initial investment?
No, this is not some sounds-too-good-to-be-true...