Archive: February 2010

YARMOUTH, Maine - Score one for the little guy. Provider Brad Watkins got word on Wednesday that his Medicare billing number had been reinstated. "It's a huge relief," said Watkins, president of Rick's Medical Supply in Roseburg, Ore. "We are reinstated all the way back to Sept. 30, 2009." Based on CMS recommendations, Watkins voluntarily revoked his number in September 2009, when it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to get accredited by the Oct. 1, 2009 deadline. Providers who didn't voluntarily...

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare's Washington Legislative Conference "could not have come at a better time," says Walt Gorski, the association's vice president of government affairs. As part of the March 1-3 conference, HME providers will hit Capitol Hill on Wednesday, just days after President Barack Obama held a healthcare reform summit with leading members of Congress. Providers plan to give those members and others an earful about the provisions that have been included in various healthcare reform packages...

WATERLOO, Iowa - Competitive bidding for HME needs to be addressed in "a more forthright manner," according to a new report conducted by Brian O'Roark, an economics professor at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, and funded by The VGM Group. The report, "The Impact of Competitive Bidding on the Market for DME--An Update," continues O'Roark's analysis of the likely economic consequences of the program. "I urge all HME providers to get this study into the hands of their Congressional representatives...

NOVATO, Calif. - Pacific Pulmonary Services plans to add 40 full-time jobs at its customer care center in Lexington, Ky., by June, it announced last week. "Adding these jobs will allow our Lexington site to expand its focus on patient care," stated Bill Pettus, customer care director, in a release. "We are excited by the growth of this center and the ability to offer more employment opportunities in the community, especially in the current economic climate." With the new jobs, Pacific Pulmonary...

BALTIMORE - Registration is now open for the March 17 Program Advisory and Oversight Committee (PAOC) meeting on national competitive bidding. To register, go to www.blsmeetings.net/paoc2010/. Registrations must be received no later than 5 p.m. EST on March 12. The meeting will take place at CMS's offices at 7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore. For more information, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/DMEPOSCompetitiveBid/. DME MAC reports 85% error rate on oxygen claims FARGO, N.D. - The Jurisdiction D DME...

YARMOUTH, Maine - Score one for the little guy. Provider Brad Watkins got word on Wednesday that his Medicare billing number had been reinstated. "It's a huge relief," said Watkins, president of Rick's Medical Supply in Roseburg, Ore. "We are reinstated all the way back to Sept. 30, 2009." Based on CMS recommendations, Watkins voluntarily revoked his number in September 2009, when it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to get accredited by the Oct. 1, 2009 deadline. Providers who didn't voluntarily...

YARMOUTH, Maine - Score one for the little guy. Provider Brad Watkins got word on Wednesday that his Medicare billing number had been reinstated. "It's a huge relief," said Watkins, president of Rick's Medical Supply in Roseburg, Ore. "We are reinstated all the way back to Sept. 30, 2009." Based on CMS recommendations, Watkins voluntarily revoked his number in September 2009, when it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to get accredited by the Oct. 1, 2009 deadline. Providers who didn't voluntarily...

YARMOUTH, Maine - Score one for the little guy. Provider Brad Watkins got word on Wednesday that his Medicare billing number had been reinstated. "It's a huge relief," said Watkins, president of Rick's Medical Supply in Roseburg, Ore. "We are reinstated all the way back to Sept. 30, 2009." Based on CMS recommendations, Watkins voluntarily revoked his number in September 2009, when it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to get accredited by the Oct. 1, 2009 deadline. Providers who didn't voluntarily...

WASHINGTON - AAHomecare's Washington Legislative Conference "could not have come at a better time," says Walt Gorski, the association's vice president of government affairs. As part of the March 1-3 conference, HME providers will hit Capitol Hill on Wednesday, just days after President Barack Obama held a healthcare reform summit with leading members of Congress. Providers plan to give those members and others an earful about the provisions that have been included in various healthcare reform packages...

WATERLOO, Iowa - Competitive bidding for HME needs to be addressed in "a more forthright manner," according to a new report conducted by Brian O'Roark, an economics professor at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, and funded by The VGM Group. The report, "The Impact of Competitive Bidding on the Market for DME--An Update," continues O'Roark's analysis of the likely economic consequences of the program. "I urge all HME providers to get this study into the hands of their Congressional representatives...