Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/34590
■ VGM’s Alan Morris says Accountable Care Organizations could provide opportunity for HME providers. See page 6. ■ Product Focus: This month, manufacturers submitted their fl agship women’s health products like this Microfi ber Compression Hosiery from Ultimate Therapy Support Stockings. See page 29. HME NEWS POLL ■ Providers report that the number of portable oxygen concentrators they provide has increased in the past year. However, for the majority of providers, POCs still make up only a small percentage of their concentrators. See results on page 34. VOLUME 17 — NUMBER 7 JULY 2011 $7.00 THE BUSINESS NEWSP APER FOR HOME MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PRO VIDERS NEWS ■ Reach out to senators. PAGE 4 ■ Iowa rocks the house. PAGE 4 ■ OIG frowns on pay-to-play arrangement. PAGE 10 SMART TALK ■ This month, our columnists tackle obtaining documentation, welcoming new hires, prepping for ALJ hearings and building repeat customers. PAGES 16-17 COMMENTARY ■ Robert McCoy provides a wrap-up of the “Long Term Oxygen Therapy (LTOT) Conference.” The objective of the conference was to focus on the science of LTOT and identify issues impacting effective oxygen therapy in the home. PAGE 15 DEPARTMENTS PROVIDERS ■ CareCentrix signs deals in two states. PAGE 19 ■ Penrod changes hands. PAGE 19 ■ Providers face tornado’s aftermath. PAGE 20 REHAB ■ From the Heartland to home. PAGE 23 ■ What’s complex rehab worth? PAGE 23 ■ MED eases journey for ATP hopefuls. PAGE 24 RX & SPECIALTY PROVIDERS ■ Independent pharmacies seek carve out. PAGE 27 ■ CPAP provider goes high tech. PAGE 27 ■ Care 1st obtains fi nancing. PAGE 27 VENDORS ■ Quantum rounds out rehab offerings. PAGE 30 ■ Vans fuel effi ciency. PAGE 31 ■ Vendors dissect GAO study. PAGE 31 WWW.HMENEWS.COM Competitive bidding’s $20 billion question ‘If (coming up with an alternative) were easy, we would have fi gured it out years ago’ BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor WASHINGTON – If not competitive bidding, then what? That is the question that HME stakeholders must answer eventu- ally to get the unpopular program repealed, say stakeholders. “We’ve heard that asked from industry supporters in Congress,” said Seth Johnson, vice president of government affairs for Pride Mobility. “I don’t think the indus- try is prepared to answer that question at this point.” The challenge is finding an alternative that saves the $20 bil- lion CMS estimates competitive bidding will save over 10 years. To delay competitive bidding in 2008—never mind repeal the pro- gram—it cost stakeholders a 9.5% reimbursement cut for all includ- ed product categories. Addi- tional cuts aren’t a good alterna- tive because with the 9.5% cut, on top of others over the years, there’s not a lot left to give, says AAHomecare’s Walt Gorski. “No other healthcare provider has had their payments adjusted BIDDING SEE PAGE 32 PAPERWORK WARS Will CMS’s new face-to-face checklist reduce documentation confusion or add to it? BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor WASHINGTON – Industry reaction is mixed about a new CMS checklist that guides physicians through the process of prescrib- ing and documenting the need for power mobility devices. “It’s not helping–they still can’t get it right,” said Ron Burns, director of the rehab department at Springfi eld, Mo.- based CoxHealth Home Support Laura Cohen Systems, part of CoxHealth. “We’ve got physicians that time out on the 45 days. We have to say, ‘No, the physician wouldn’t comply with the cor- rect documentation on this.’ There’s nothing I can do. It’s a WARS SEE PAGE 32 This patient’s a real kick You might say Enos Home Oxygen & Medical Supply recently treated a patient of a different color. Jeremy, who is owned by Deb Bell, a respiratory therapist at the New Bedford, Mass.- based provider, was recently nursed back to health with the aid of home oxygen equipment. Providers shift their billing tactics BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor YARMOUTH, Maine – The days of HME providers collecting only the basic documentation needed to sub- mit a claim for reimbursement to Medicare are over, say billing consultants. An increas- ing number of HME providers are holding back claims until they’ve also col- Sarah Hanna lected supporting documentation, they say. “There’s been a complete shift in their business model,” said Sylvia Toscano, owner of Profes- sional Medical Administrators in Boca Raton, Fla. In the past, providers collected chart notes and other support- ing documentation only if they ‘Let me put it this way: If you don’t have what you need and you end up in an audit or pre-pay situation, you have no cash fl ow’ received requests for additional documentation or ran into prob- lems with their claims. Collecting supporting documen- tation upfront has been the stan- dard operating procedure at North- east Home Medical Equipment for a few years now, says Irene Magee. “We’re a not-for-profit, which TACTICS SEE PAGE 33 Sell your excess supplies here? BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor YARMOUTH, Maine – Ads targeting seniors that offer cash for excess diabetes supplies have been pop- ping up in local newspapers around the country. That has some providers worried it casts a bad light on the HME industry. “It gives the perception that we are sending people stuff they don’t need,” said Dave Doubek, presi- dent of Alsip, Ill.-based Doubek Medical Supply. With CMS constantly scrutiniz- ing providers for improper billing and documentation issues, the idea that a so-called black market for test strips exists has providers understandably worried. DIABETES SEE PAGE 33