Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/36987
s Providers have a ‘secret weapon,’ says Shelly Prial. It’s the ability to infl uence votes, he says. See page 15. s Product Focus: This month’s product focus features scooters like this Go-Go ES scooter from Pride Mobility Products, as well as scooter-related items and accessories. See pages 30-31. HME NEWS POLL s Some providers say they are being approached by companies interested in acquiring them. The buyers range from local competitors to companies from outside the HME industry. See results on page 38. VOLUME 17 — NUMBER 8 AUGUST 2011 $7.00 THE BUSINESS NEWSP APER FOR HOME MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PRO VIDERS NEWS s OIG slams subcontracting, marketing practices. PAGE 4 s Groups comment on ACOs. PAGE 4 s NewsPoll: Providers track denial rates. PAGE 6 SMART TALK s This month, our columnists tackle performance indicators, existing customers, storm preparation and problem survey areas. PAGE 16-17 COMMENTARY s Say what? A power wheelchair that makes coffee and toast, opens the refrigerator door to get eggs and milk, and scrambles eggs on a stove that an avatar has just turned on? See what Joel Solkoff has to say about 3-D technology. PAGE 15 DEPARTMENTS PROVIDERS s M&A: Foreign-based companies like HME. PAGE 19 s POCs offer edge. PAGE 19 s AmeriCare re-enters retail. PAGE 19 MOBILITY s USM ‘cements’ position. PAGE 23 s RESNA creates wheelchair provision guide. PAGE 24 s Briefi ng connects rehab, HME. PAGE 25 RX & SPECIALTY PROVIDERS s Insulet acquires Neighborhood Diabetes. PAGE 27 s Two bills get another chance. PAGE 27 s Express Medical revamps website. PAGE 28 VENDORS s Software market consolidates. PAGE 33 s GAO explores bid program for manufacturers. PAGE 33 s Q&A: Sue Chen. PAGE 34 WWW.HMENEWS.COM Medicare abuse A hearing, an audit and a bill BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor WASHINGTON – With Medicare fraud and abuse the mantra of government offi cials in Washington, D.C., these days, HME industry stakehold- ers are walking the fi ne line between supporting efforts to clean up the benefi t and saying enough is enough. At a federal fraud-preven- tion summit held June 17 in Philadelphia, attendees criti- cized one of CMS’s go-to tools: often-overzealous audits. “Nobody is more offended by fraud and abuse then those of us who play by the rules” “The RACs are set up as bounty hunters and they get paid on what they bring back,” FRAUD SEE PAGE 12 CMS takes new involves physicians, HME providers using swipe cards BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor INDIANAPOLIS – HME industry stakeholders are calling a new fraud and abuse pilot program that’s taking place here “proac- tive” and “cutting edge.” Michael Reinemer approach to fraud Pilot program The pilot pro- gram, spearhead- ed by National Government Services (NGS), the Jurisdiction B DME MAC, entails providing volunteer physi- cians and HME providers with magnetic swipe cards. When a PILOT SEE PAGE 12 ATG Rehab makes ‘historic’ acquisition BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor ROCKY HILL, Conn. – It’s been a busy summer for ATG Rehab, which added Chesapeake Rehab and Gary Gilberti WestMed Rehab to its ranks. The buys allow ATG to enter markets where it did not previously have a presence: South Dakota and the mid-Atlantic region. ATG called its acquisition of Chesapeake Rehab “the largest acquisition in ATG Rehab’s his- tory” in its announcement July 9. Baltimore-basedChesapeake ATG REHAB SEE PAGE 24 Liquid poised for a comeback Philips Respironics in June introduced the HomeLox, a portable liquid oxygen system that allows users to generate and store liquid oxygen in their homes. That, in turn, allows HME providers to eliminate twice-a-month tank deliveries, which can cost $75 a pop. SEE STORY PAGE 33 Providers eye home sleep test market The big question: Who should they partner with? BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor YARMOUTH, Maine – CPAP providers are working hard to make sure they have a place in the wild west of home sleep testing. Although most providers don’t offer home sleep testing, some seek to align themselves with third-party payers and indepen- dent diagnostic testing facilities (IDTFs) that are increasingly using the tool. With the cost of a home sleep test falling some- where in the hundreds of dollars compared to up to a couple of thousand dollars for a lab study, it’s probably no surprise that pay- ers are warming up to home sleep testing. But the shift toward home sleep testing means sleep labs could stand to lose a lot of business. So providers have to walk a fi ne line between establishing new busi- ness and maintaining relation- ships with sleep labs. “The sleep labs are going to have to understand that these patients are going to be taken care of without them,” said Todd Cressler, president of CressCare Medical in Harrisburg, Pa. Providers in Pennsylvania have seen these changes fi rsthand. In that state, commercial insurer HealthAmerica requires its mem- bers who need a sleep study to use home sleep testing. The payer has WILD WEST SEE PAGE 29