Archive: May 2009
'Not out of the woods'
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
WASHINGTON--The industry dodged a bullet May 7, when President Barack Obama unveiled $17 billion in budget cuts, none for home medical equipment, sources say.
Leading up to the $3.6 trillion budget's release, the industry had received “mixed signals” about whether it would include provisions to further reduce the oxygen cap to 13 months and other cuts to HME, sources said.
“We're always worried we're going to be a target,” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government...
Proposed cut: DMIE not DME
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
DES MOINES, Iowa--It turns out Gov. Chet Culver won't be eliminating funding for durable medical equipment after all.
Provider Aaron Lerberg got a scare recently, when an acquaintance in the state's Department of Human Services notified him that a summary of the governor's budget proposed eliminating funding for DME for fiscal year 2008-09, saving $2,387,044. Lerberg notified the Midwest Association of Medical Equipment Services (MAMES) immediately.
“When we found out, we had one of our members...
We're digging our graves even deeper
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
I think the creation of CSI: HME (See page 4) is one of the most irresponsible things members of our industry could do. Our representation is already fragmented from the introduction of NAIMES and AMEPA.
We need one, consolidated loud voice in Washington, not three or four little peeps. AAHomecare has been, and should be, our main Washington voice especially in light of their recent agreement with Nielsen/Medtrade.
I'm afraid that our elected officials will begin hearing three or four versions of...
The InterWebs: An open letter
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
So how much do you use the Web and all of its trappings, anyway? Do you visit www.hmenews.com each day? Do you spend your lunch hour pondering your next status update on Facebook?
I've been thinking about your use of the Web a lot lately. With all the hard work we've been putting into our Web site, I can't help but wonder: Have our readers noticed?
In case you haven't, we've added quite a few features to our Web site, including HME News TV episodes every Wednesday and Friday. (A recent Weekly Update...
On point
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
LONGMONT, Colo.--If you're an HME provider who collects frequent flyer miles and hotel rewards - or if you just want to get more bang for your buck - Sunrise Medical now has a service that's right up your alley.
The company's new Select program rewards providers with points based on how much product they buy. Providers can use the points to purchase education through Sunrise on a variety of topics, including reimbursement, operational efficiency and marketing. They'll also receive other perks, such...
Short takes
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
Nashville, Tenn.-based mail-order provider Simplex Diabetic Supply announced in April it had changed its name to Simplex Healthcare…PharmaCare Network's Home Medical Department opened a new branch in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., in March. PharmaCare offers DME and respiratory services in addition to pharmacy…HQAA in April accredited Bellingham, Wash.-based Hoaglund Pharmacy and Traverse City, Mich.-based Thompson Pharmacy & Medical.
Q&A: Complex manual wheelchairs
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
KENNEWICK, Wash.--The complex manual wheelchair market seems to be suffering from an image crisis. The general public continues to think of complex manual wheelchairs as sports chairs, designed for serious athletes. As a result, these chairs are often underutilized - to the detriment of end users, according to TiLite Vice President of Sales Marty Ball.
HME News: So the complex manual wheelchair market is often overlooked?
Marty Ball: Complex manual wheelchairs have, at times, been overlooked or maybe...
Providers, manufacturers rein in travel
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
YARMOUTH, Maine - When it comes to traveling to trade shows and other industry events, one respondent to the June HME NewsPoll seemed to sum up the feelings of many: "It's a non-critical expense."
A whopping 80% of the 163 respondents to the NewsPoll stated they have cut back on travel to these events.
"All seminar and educational travel was cut in January," said one respondent. "It will stay cut until at least August."
That shouldn't come as a surprise. The HME industry's battling two major Medicare...
A seat at the table
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
WASHINGTON--Invacare's Mal Mixon had a “seat at the table” on April 8, when a select group of healthcare executives met with a White House official to discuss health care reform.
Nancy-Ann DeParle, the director of the White House Office of Health Reform, led about 30 executives in an over two-hour discussion about how redesigning the delivery model for chronic diseases like diabetes and COPD and other measures can improve care, increase efficiency and save money.
“There were a...
Private payers, Medicaid dig in
May 31, 2009HME News Staff
Rehab providers knew it was only a matter of time before other payers picked up on Medicare's 9.5% reimbursement cut for standard and complex power wheelchairs.
In recent months they have reported that some private payers and Medicaid programs, including the New York Department of Health on April 1, had implemented the cut.
“We're very discouraged,” said Bill Tobia, owner of Home Medical Equipment in Garden City, N.Y. “When they didn't do it in January, we didn't think they were...