Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31876
s Georgie Blackburn and other contract winners say they’ve seen no upswing in business. See page 4. s Product Focus: This month, manufacturers submitted their fl agship diabetes products like the Pen Plus Diabetic Organizer Case from Medicool. For more products, see page 29. HME NEWS POLL s Some industry stakeholders believe that high denial rates trigger audits. Do you track your denial rates? Have your denial rates increased, decreased or stayed the same over the past year? See results on page 34. VOLUME 17 — NUMBER 6 JUNE 2011 $7.00 THE BUSINESS NEWSP APER FOR HOME MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PRO VIDERS NEWS s CMS considers expanding bidding categories. PAGE 4 s Audit task force seeks meeting with CMS. PAGE 4 s A tax break for HME? PAGE 8 SMART TALK s This month, our columnists tackle software training, error reductions, supplier generated forms and website marketing. PAGES 14-15 COMMENTARY s The real problem the industry is currently facing is how to stop a program destined to fail from being expanded to 91 additional areas where the bid process is set to begin early next year, writes Pride Mobility’s Seth Johnson. PAGE 13 DEPARTMENTS PROVIDERS s Elkhart General forms joint venture. PAGE 17 s Michael Feuer is back. PAGE 17 s ArmsCare enjoys retail sales. PAGE 17 REHAB s MED Group forms O&P network. PAGE 23 s Q&A: Jodie Stogner. PAGE 23 s Users First joins United Spinal Association. PAGE 23 RX & SPECIALTY PROVIDERS s NHIA creates code of ethics. PAGE 26 s CarePoint expands footprint. PAGE 26 s Reliable Respiratory spices up marketing. PAGE 26 VENDORS s Electric Mobility throws in the towel. PAGE 30 s Q&A: Michael Sanderson PAGE 30 s Invacare posts ‘solid’ fi rst quarter. PAGE 31 WWW.HMENEWS.COM Impact of bid program spreads ‘This is the fi rst indication of a rate reduction based on the bid,’ says state association director Michael Hamilton BY LIZ BEAULIEU Editor FRANKLIN, Tenn. – If you still think competitive bidding doesn’t affect you because you’re not in a Round 1 or Round 2 CBA, here’s a wakeup call. HealthSpring, which owns and operates Medicare Advantage plans in 11 states and Washington, D.C., notifi ed its contracted DME Pride, Quantum commit to kids PRIDE MOBILITY AND QUAN- TUM REHAB announced this month that they have acquired Kids Up, a Belgrade, Mont.- based pediatric seating and mobility company. Quantum will integrate Kids Up into its manual wheelchair offerings. Kids Up’s products include the Reaction Dynamic Seating System, which allows kids to bend or straighten in their chairs while maintaining proper positioning and support. providers in an April 6 letter that it plans to adjust its rates based on the new competitive bidding rates. The kicker: The company states that “this is a corporate initiative to standard- ize our DME fee schedules across all states and markets.” “This is the fi rst indication of a rate reduc- tion based on the bid,” said Michael Hamilton, executive director of the Alabama Durable Medical Equipment Association, whose mem- bers were among those who received the letter. “This is a shot across the bow.” In its letter, HealthSpring explains that the new competitive bidding rates represent 68% of the current Medicare allowable. As such, it plans to reduce its rates to 70% of the allow- able, down from 80%. CONTINUED ON PAGE 33 Q&A: Jim Clark THE VIEW ACROSS the street from Ken Glover Drug after a tornado. ‘Complete chaos’ in Alabama Ken Glover’s running on three hours of sleep a night BY THERESA FLAHERTY Managing Editor CORDOVA, Ala. - A pair of tornadoes destroyed the tiny town of Cordova, Ala., on April 27, taking Ken Glover’s pharmacy right along with it. “It’s like a war zone,” said Glover, owner of Ken Glover Drug. “We’re still in survival mode and running on adrenaline.” Alabama was hard hit by a record-breaking series of tornadoes that are estimated to have killed 328 people in seven states, according to news reports. In Cordova, the fi rst tornado passed through at about 5 a.m. and CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 CMS revises policy but leaves patients ‘in limbo’ BY ELIZABETH DEPREY Associate Editor WASHINGTON – HME providers will once again be able to get partial reimbursement from CMS for certain power wheelchairs. In an April 28 bulletin, the DME MACs announced that they plan to reverse a Feb. 4 policy change that prevented providers from using advanced benefi ciary notices CONTINUED ON PAGE 32 Improve education, improve outcomes BY ELIZABETH DEPREY Associate Editor J ence. So his company, Clark Respiratory and Medical Supply, conducted a study of 324 oxy- gen-depen- dent COPD patients during a 10- month time period to see if improved patient edu- cation had any effect on outcomes. im Clark wanted to fi nd out if HME providers really do make a differ- Jim Clark What it found: Improved patient education reduced hos- pital re-admissions by 14.8%. Clark spoke with HME News recently about his fi ndings and the increasing importance of evidence-based medicine. HME NEWS: Why did you do this study? Jim Clark: We were looking for studies and couldn’t fi nd any CONTINUED ON PAGE 20