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An Amy Schumer standup special I watched recently on Netflix had me thinking about the latest iteration of legislation that seeks to require Medicare to pay for custom breast forms.  Schumer was talking about a common women’s health condition she was seeking treatment for.   “Oh, we haven’t studied that yet,” she deadpans, “because it only affects women.”   Cue Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who introduced the Breast Cancer Patient...

On a semi-regular basis, Editor Liz Beaulieu asks me: “Are HME providers for or against prior auths?”  I then try to remember where things stand on that particular issue before helpfully responding: “Both, I think?”  So, we went directly to the source. Our October HME Newspoll (See story page 3) asked: “How do you feel about prior auths?”   Results were mixed, with 58% of respondents saying, “No thanks!” due to the heavy...

YARMOUTH, Maine – Technology has been on the minds of a lot of people these days. You can’t open the New York Times without seeing yet another article on ChatGPT or AI in general.  The former I find particularly concerning as a writer, not just because I don’t want my words cribbed by some work-shy, wannabe wordsmith, but because I think we’re already becoming less able to think critically and individually, even before we try outsourcing the need to, you know, think.   More...

I am currently in the market for a new used car, my first in 10 years. While I knew it was coming, the news came as an unwelcome shock because I, too, have heard about the vehicle shortages, high costs and high interest rates that have turned what was already an unpleasant experience, at best, into a Hunger Games-style free-for-all. Over at my work desk, the big news is the Humana contracts, an exciting opportunity for AdaptHealth and Rotech and a source of dread and anxiety for everyone else...

This month, editor Liz and I had a lot of fun with our cartoon, which plays off the news that Medline has partnered with Martha Stewart on a new line of home safety and mobility items. Martha’s instantly recognizable and lauded for, among other things, her good taste, two attributes that I am sure Medline is banking on.  We changed it up a bit, though, by swapping out Martha’s famous, “That’s a good thing,” with one from her pal, Snoop Dogg, “If the ride...

One of the members of an online diabetes forum I’m in generated much excitement last week when she posted a pic comparing the size of her old FreeStyle Libre sensor with the latest generation, which is about a third of the original’s size.  “Wow!” “Amazing!” That was the general consensus.  Smaller in size means less noticeable (less face it, CGMs, while a thing of beauty in terms of technology and their impact on users’ lives, are not, well,...

YARMOUTH, Maine – As far as HME Newspolls go, this one was a dud.  There. We said it.  Since we were working on our January issue at the time, we thought it would be interesting to have providers share what they believed to be their biggest business opportunity and biggest challenge, as they headed into 2023.  It’s hard to say whether providers are too busy to think about 2023 just yet (a mistake) or are simply tired of answering surveys and polls (understandable).  However,...

I’m on information overload this week and it’s only Wednesday. And it’s technology information that I’m being inundated with. It’s exhausting.  Take work. We are switching to new laptops. This is a good thing. But in the lead up to the big switch, I had to start backing up my files differently (In the air! Somewhere!). Now, I’m not a Luddite, by any means, but some concepts are a tad bit harder for me to wrap my mind around. I have a perfectly serviceable...

Fall, for me, is a time of new beginnings. Maybe it’s because for so long, it was the start of a new school year. Maybe it’s because the New England air finally sheds its muggy curtain and I can breathe again. Feeling a sense of renewal and looking to make a fresh start at home, I hired a housecleaner to come in and do a deep clean. They scrubbed the markings off my stove dials and tried to overcharge me, but hey, my kitchen sink looks brand new. For the HME industry, fall...

Three hundred and twenty-nine years. That’s how long it took for Elizabeth Johnson Jr.’s name to be cleared after being convicted of witchcraft in Salem, Mass., in 1693.  According to the Boston Globe, state lawmakers agreed to reconsider her case – she was the last accused witch to be cleared – at the behest of an eighth-grade civics class. There followed a bill, an attachment vehicle in the form of a budget bill and, finally, approval.  Sound familiar? That’s...