Archive: December 2012

Some providers of home oxygen therapy are looking at vents as a good way to extend their clinical expertise into another market. The MED Group has made it easier for these providers to get business by putting together a suppliers network for vents that case managers can use to find qualified providers. Here's what Kelly Riley, director of MED's National Respiratory Network, and Wayne Grau, MED's vice president of contracting and business services, had to say about the promise of this market.HME News:...

RIPE FOR RETAILScooting ahead: Scooters are tailor-made for retail sales, and HME providers can make the transition with little expense or disruption. The biggest adjustment, manufacturers say, is changing the mindset to think like a consumer.SOFT SELLSubtlety required: Scooters aren't widgets, so providers must use restraint and finesse in dealing with clients. Consumers are looking for a consultant, not a sales agent, to help them select the right model for themselves.THE RIGHT MIXScooter...

For mobility providers looking to enter the HME retail parade, market specialists recommend they march in with both feet and follow the scooters. As competitive bidding, strict qualifying rules and declining reimbursement levels have combined to edge many providers out of the Medicare program, it may just be the push some companies need to pursue a cash-oriented business model, says Cy Corgan, director of corporate sales for Exeter, Pa.-based Pride Mobility. “Through adversity comes opportunity,”...

BOCA RATON, Fla. - American Diabetes Services wants to be the online Costco of the HME world. So in November, the online provider launched supportplusmedical.com, a membership-driven store that accepts no insurance. The annual memberships—MedVantage and MedVantage Plus for consumers, and MedVantage Pro for healthcare professionals—offer discounts and cash-back rewards on purchases. Memberships cost $35, $55 and $110, respectively, and all have a 30-day free trial. “The market...

DARIEN, Ill. - It's back to the drawing board for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) in its efforts to expand the role of physicians in sleep therapy.The association in 2011 submitted a proposal to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) seeking to create a safe harbor that would allow board-certified sleep physicians to perform and interpret sleep tests and provide CPAP devices to patients. On Nov. 27, the OIG said “no.”“OIG is not adopting the suggestion to promulgate...

NEENAH, Wis. - Provider Tom Wilson has had seven years to perfect his business model and is confident that it's time to make a leap.The president of The CareGiver Partnership, a mail-order provider of incontinence supplies, is seeking investors to help grow the company over the next three years� from its current $1.1 million to $50 million in sales.“I totally believe that is possible in a reasonably short period of time, as long as consumers are aware of us,” said Wilson. “It's...

Sleep therapy is such a booming business that it's hardly surprising sleep-related stories once again dominated the specialty provider sector in 2012. However, unlike with 2011, which saw a handful of potentially positive changes for providers, this year's top sleep stories highlight various encroachments on the market.Far and away, the biggest issue was CMS's requirement that providers prove supplies are “non-functioning” before they can replace them (“CMS does about-face on re-supply...

HOUSTON - After a period of declining membership, the American Association of Breast Care Professionals (AABCP) says things started to turn around in 2012.The seven-year-old association, which represents individual and HME-based post-mastectomy fitters, saw its membership drop by nearly 20% in 2011, some of which Executive Director Rhonda Turner attributes to issues that included accreditation and certification changes.“I think people were burned out and didn't have the time, energy or financial...

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The latest attempt by stakeholders to get CMS to rethink its decision to include home infusion in the Round 1 recompete didn't get very far.The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) recently met with the Competitive Bidding Implementation Contractor and the National Suppliers Clearinghouse to discuss the issue. It also submitted written questions to both groups. “We are disappointed at the lack of response from CMS to very particular safety concerns that we have raised...

WALSENBURG, Colo. - NRRTS wants to make sure its registrants are on the radars of case managers, says Simon Margolis.“These are some of the major decision-making folks in the private insurance sector,” said Margolis, executive director. “They're advocates for their patients, as well as keepers of the purse—and they're in charge of discharge conferences at rehab centers.”NRRTS in November entered into a partnership with the Case Management Society of America (CMSA), a...