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Tag: HME Databank


On the Editor's Desk

When numbers speak volumes

August 24, 2022Liz Beaulieu, Editor

We recently loaded the HME Databank (www.hmedatabank.com) with 2021 data, something I’ve been keen to look at to see the impact of current dynamics in the industry, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a major CPAP recall. Let’s start with the pandemic. While we were putting together this issue, Invacare released its second quarter financial results and company officials said they expected to see reduced COVID-related demand for respiratory products in the next several quarters,...

CPAP Recall, HME Databank, Pandemic


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On the Editor's Desk

Updated data, CMS's central office and The Circus Ship

September 26, 2017Liz Beaulieu, Editor

We go live with 2016 data for our HME Databank on Oct. 1. I've been playing around in a test site this week, and let me tell you, the data ain't pretty. Take E1390, stationary oxygen concentrators. Total Medicare spend on this code in 2016 was $620,708,743, according to data obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request from CMS. In 2015: $903,973,456. Before we move on to declines in spending in other DME, let me say that obtaining the data this year was more difficult than in...

CMS, Competitive Bidding, Data, HME Databank


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On the Editor's Desk

These graphs speak for themselves

June 14, 2016Liz Beaulieu, Editor

I was putting the finishing touches on our Databank page for the July issue this morning, and the updates to the Medicare Market Marker hit me like a ton of bricks. The marker, in case you don't know, is where we keep track of the number of allowed beneficiaries for five popular DMEPOS products: E1390 (oxygen concentrator), E0260 (semi-electric hospital bed), E0601 (CPAP), K0001 (standard wheelchair) and K0823 (power wheelchair). We track the data using line graphs, giving you one month...

CMS, Data, HME Databank, Medicare


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News

Data demonstrates bid program's ripple effect

October 2, 2015HME News Staff

YARMOUTH, Maine - Medicare spending in certain competitive bid areas continues to nosedive, according to 2014 data added this week to the HME Databank.In Riverside County, Calif., a Round 1 area, Medicare spending on oxygen concentrators dropped from $2.37 million in 2013 to $1.55 million in 2014. In 2011, the year the program rolled out, Medicare spending on E1390 was $3.28 million.In other areas, like Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, a Round 1 area, Medicare spending on oxygen concentrators...

HME Databank


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On the Editor's Desk

Sneak peek at 2014 data

July 9, 2015Liz Beaulieu, Editor

If it's summer in Maine, it means I'm in the throes of requesting, collecting and analyzing Medicare data sets for two upcoming projects: the annual update of our HME Databank (it happens Oct. 1!) and the publication of the State of the Industry Report (it will be an insert in the December issue). Both will feature 2014 data. To put 2014 in perspective, let's consider that pricing for the Round 1 re-compete went into effect Jan. 1, 2014, and six months before that, pricing for the...

CMS, Data, HME Databank, Medicare


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On the Editor's Desk

Medicare spend in 2012?

May 2, 2013Liz Beaulieu, Editor

For those of you uninitiated in the to-do list of an HME News editor, the first week in May is when she has to submit half a dozen or so Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Pricing, Data Analysis and Coding (PDAC) contractor to update the HME Databank. The Databank features a listing of the top Medicare providers by total reimbursement for 231 codes (Provider Share can be filtered by state, city or zip) and a listing of fee-for-service reimbursement for 426 codes included in competitive...

2012, Data, HME Databank, Home Medical Equipment (HME), Medicare


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On the Editor's Desk

Time for a pop quiz

November 29, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor

In honor of 1.) the 2011 data finally being added to our HME Databank (thank you for your patience!) and 2.) the 2012 State of the Industry Report appearing in our December issue, I have a little pop quiz for you. HME Databank 1.)    Who were the top five providers of CPAP devices (E0601) in 2011?2.)    Who was the No. 1 provider of blood glucose strips in New York?3.)    How much did Medicare spend on oxygen concentrators (E1390) in 2011?4.)  ...

Data, HME Databank, Home Medical Equipment (HME), State of the Industry


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On the Editor's Desk

Down in the (data) dumps

October 24, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor

As users of our HME Databank very well know, we still don't have 2011 data for Provider Share (top providers) and Product Share (product utilization), and I'm profusely sorry about this. Believe me, I'm as upset about it as the Databank users that I've been talking to on a weekly, if not daily, basis. I mean, it's almost 2013. Argh. For what it's worth, I made the request for this data in May, as I always have for the past several years. Typically, it takes the...

HME Databank, Home Medical Equipment (HME), Provider


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On the Editor's Desk

Let me blog your ear off

July 10, 2012Liz Beaulieu, Editor

My colleagues know that if I'm in the kitchen popping popcorn in the middle of the afternoon, I'm stuck on something (other than what to make for dinner—what do you think for tonight, black bean burgers?). This afternoon, it's this blog. I like to write two blogs a week, usually on Tuesday and Thursday, and today's Tuesday. Usually, I'm not at a loss for what to blog about, but with the beautiful weather in Maine this week (think 80 degrees, full sun, occasional...

Excellence, HME Databank, HME Financial Benchmarking Survey, Popcorn, Referral sources, Technology


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On the Editor's Desk

I spy new data on the HME News Databank page

April 5, 2011Liz Beaulieu, Editor

So in case you didn't notice, the Databank page in the April issue of HME News featured some new data courtesy of the folks at RemitData. Each month, the Databank page features a RemitData Denial Tracker that shows the percentage of Medicare claims rejected on a monthly basis for three product categories: rehab, DME and respiratory. This data is based on a pretty good sized pool of claims. For the month of February, 1,828,268 of them to be exact. In April, the graph also featured the percentage...

Data, HME Databank, Medicare, On The Editor's Desk


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