Archive: September 2009

Q. How do I pick a great Web designer for my Web site? A. First, determine the designer's skill level. Review the designer's Web site and online portfolio. This will show his attention to detail and his design style. Look at the designer's experience with various design programs. Can he work on your site from beginning to end? Can he create online forms or would he have to contract it out? Find out their HME experience Experience with HME and healthcare is valuable. If the designer is new to HME,...

When it comes to home medical equipment providers, Extrakare is in a class by itself. The five-year-old company, which has grown 834.6% since 2004, recently turned up on Inc. magazine's 2009 list of America's 500 fastest-growing private businesses. Extrakare placed 271st on the list. That made the company the 25th fastest-growing private healthcare business in America and the 8th fastest-growing private business in Atlanta. While some specialty pharmacy and home nursing companies appeared on the...

From subcontracting to Medicaid audits, a number of legal issues have appeared on the radar screens of industry attorneys. Here's what they say HME providers should be aware of: Asela Cuervo, Law Office of Asela Cuervo, Washington, D.C. As if Medicare audits weren't stressful enough. CMS recently told its contractors to give little leeway when it comes to medical necessity documentation. The new policy has been in the works for a while, but it also addresses concerns raised in an OIG report earlier...

Just before we went to press with this issue, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) published a report stating Medicare pays about four times acquisition cost for standard power wheelchairs and about two times acquisition cost for complex power wheelchairs. The report, "Power Wheelchairs in the Medicare Program: Acquisition Costs and Services," caught the eye of at least one lawmaker, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, whose office wasted no time issuing a statement. The headline: "Grassley revved up...

WILMINGTON, Ohio - Littleton Home Care sent a clear message to its community when it moved into a large new facility in September: We're here to stay. Until recently, Wilmington was the hub of the worldwide delivery service DHL, which employed thousands of area residents. Those jobs are gone, lost to the recession. "That's been a big hit to the community," said Erin Hoge, vice president. "But we're still here, and we are not going anywhere." The 30-year-old company has moved several times, always...

BALTIMORE - Loan closet arrangements could become a thing of the past, under the terms of a memo issued by CMS on Aug. 7. The memo, which adds a provision to the Medicare Program Integrity Manual, seeks to define and prohibit certain loan closet arrangements between HME providers and other practitioners, such as physicians or labs. Effective March 2, 2010, such arrangements, including consignment closets and stock-and-bill arrangements, must meet current quality standards. Most do not, it says. "Under...

AAHomecare submitted an oxygen reform plan to Congress last month that calls for reducing Medicare's current combined reimbursement rate for stationary and portable oxygen to 90% of the 2009 allowable. The back-and-forth, often acrimonious, debate over what shape oxygen reform should take has divided the industry for months. In August, stakeholders reached a tentative compromise, but the plan AAHomecare submitted to Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., left some disappointed. Specifically, some providers and...

WASHINGTON - HME providers were working like crazy in early September--less than one month from when they needed a $50,000 surety bond--to acquire the all-important insurance coverage so they could continue billing Medicare. "It's been steady since about May, but now it's gone to another level," said Bill McMahon, an account executive with Cailor Fleming Insurance in Youngstown, Ohio. Warren Freeman, director of sales and marketing for VGM Insurance in Waterloo, Iowa, agreed. "The floodgates have...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Providers across Florida received "Dear John" letters from Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) on July 27 informing them their services would no longer be needed as of Nov. 1. The Florida Alliance of Home Care Services (FAHCS) has been collecting information from providers to gauge the impact of the change, said Sean Schwinghammer, executive director. "We are projecting it will be close to 300 (who lose their contracts)," he said. "It's substantial." It appears the insurer, one of...

ARLINGTON, Va. - HME providers have until next month to comply with a new federal regulation that requires them to have in place processes and procedures to prevent identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission delayed the rule's start date in late July from Aug. 1 to Nov. 1, 2009. The reason for the delay: to give companies more time to develop and implement their programs. Fortunately, for most, that should not be a challenge, industry attorney Asela Cuervo said July 23 during an AAHomecare teleconference:...