Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31503
■ Category development: Billing systems have come a long way, says Spencer Kay of Fastrack. See story page 28. ■ Product Focus: Manufacturers submitted their fl agship billing systems and services, like Noble*Direct for Windows from Noble House. See pages 28-29. HME NEWS POLL ■ Do you think Medicare’s competitive bidding program will drive more HME manufacturers to sell direct to consumers? Would you continue to buy from them if they do? See results on page 34. VOLUME 17 — NUMBER 1 JANUARY 2011 $7.00 THE BUSINESS NEWSP APER FOR HOME MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PRO VIDERS NEWS ■ Invacare analysis questions fi nances of contract winners. PAGE 4 ■ CMS polls providers on need for patient eligibility data. PAGE 4 ■ Indie HME providers vs. hospital HME providers. PAGE 4 SMART TALK ■ This month, our columnists tackle controlling damage, being fi nancially fl exible, selling yourself and engaging your patients. PAGES 12-13 COMMENTARY ■ The more things change, the more they stay the same. The New Year brings an all-too familiar set of challenges to HME providers, says industry attorney Asela Cuervo. Topping the list: competitive bidding and audits. PAGE 11 DEPARTMENTS PROVIDERS ■ A story of redemption. PAGE 15 ■ Telehealth gives providers ‘cutting edge.’ PAGE 15 ■ Online marketing is ‘huge.’ PAGE 18 BY LIZ BEAULIEU Editor REHAB ■ ‘Do something’ at CELA. PAGE 21 ■ Group recharges batteries. PAGE 21 ■ Providers throw technology at documentation woes. PAGE 21 RX & SPECIALTY PROVIDERS ■ Diabetes: Race to the bottom? PAGE 25 ■ CMS opens door to alternate therapy. PAGE 25 ■ Diabetes Plus has got your back. PAGE 26 VENDORS ■ College prez joins VGM. PAGE 30 ■ Big GPO gobbles MED up. PAGE 30 ■ Inova gets picky with providers. PAGE 30 WWW.HMENEWS.COM Gerry Blouch REDDING, Calif. – It’s not uncommon for wheelchair users or their family members to take out classifi ed ads in local newspapers to sell wheelchairs they no longer need. It is uncommon for HME providers to take out ads Competitive bidding Stakeholders: Spread the word BY LIZ BEAULIEU Editor WASHINGTON – With competitive bid- ding approaching with all the fury of a class 5 hurricane, HME industry stakeholders in December continued to batten down the hatches. The National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES) distributed a “strategic action plan” to the execu- tive directors of the state associations in the nine competitive bidding areas (CBAs) that outlines the steps they Non-contract suppliers grandfather reluctantly BY THERESA FLAHERTY Managing Editor P rovider Tim Bates just wants to take care of his patients. That’s why the president of Premier Home Health Care in Orlando, Fla., decided to be a A black market for power chairs? ‘If you can buy a used wheelchair cheap, then you’re home free in the fi rst month. Everything else is gravy.’ to buy them. But in the months leading up to the elimination of the fi rst-month purchase option for standard power wheelchairs, that’s exactly what was happening in California, according to industry sources. CONTINUED ON PAGE 23 Q&A: New Invacare CEO BY MIKE MORAN Executive Editor ELYRIA, Ohio – Mal Mixon stepped down as CEO of Invacare in late November after 32 years at the helm and passed the baton to President Gerry Blouch, who joined the company 20 years ago as its fi rst chief fi nancial offi cer. Blouch, 64, has served as interim CEO since Mixon, 70, suffered a mild stroke last spring. He assumes his CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 Provider drives down cost BY LIZ BEAULIEU Editor ROCHESTER, Mich. – Wright & Filippis has a cab ride in Las Vegas to thank for a new initiative that will not only save the provider money but also make it more “green.” “Our leadership was attending Medtrade West three years ago and took a cab that was powered by propane,” said Tom Hopkins, the distribution and fl eet manager at Wright & Filippis. “A.J. Filippis CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 ONE OF WRIGHT & FILIPPIS’ new propane-powered vans. grandfathered provider of oxygen, CPAP and hospital beds under competitive bidding. “I really want to keep the patients I’ve got and take care of them the best I can,” said Bates. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 should take in the days before and after the program kicks off Jan. 1. The Accredited Medical Equipment Providers of America (AMEPA) and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., debuted toll-free complaint lines: 1- 888-876-3369 and 1-888-671-4091. AAHomecare also plans to have a toll-free complaint line. “When this thing starts in January and there are problems, we need to be ready,” said Wayne Stanfi eld, executive director of NAIMES. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 UroMed walks the walk UROMED, WHICH WAS FOUNDED BY BERT BURNS, who was para- lyzed in 1982 after being hit by a drunk driver, takes commu- nity awareness and fundraising events seri- ously. The pro- vider recently sponsored and participated in a local “Walk-n- Roll” for spina bifi da. In addition to Burns, about 25% of UroMed’s employees are disabled or have a family member who is disabled. See story on page 25.