Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/45026
s Patients, products and payers are the three elements to success, says Pride Mobility's Ted Raquet. See page 17. s Product Focus: This month, we asked manufacturers to submit wound care items, pressure mattresses and hospital beds, like this Lumex Patriot Homecare Bed from GF Health Products. See pages 36-38. HME NEWS POLL s Competitive bidding and reimbursement cuts have HME providers looking for ways to reduce their dependence on Medicare. The most popular? Cash and retail sales. See results on page 46. VOLUME 17 — NUMBER 11 NOVEMBER 2011 $7.00 THE BUSINESS NEWSP APER FOR HOME MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PRO VIDERS NEWS s MedPac recommends several DME cuts. PAGE 4 s CardioSom sues federal government for damages. PAGE 4 s Accreditation: Medicare's requirement not foolproof. PAGE 10 SMART TALK s This month, our columnists tackle repair schedules, rewards programs, drivers' records and unannounced surveys. PAGES 20-21 COMMENTARY s Meet Alpine Home Medical Equipment, winner of the 2011 HME Excellence Awards for best HME provider. President Jay Broadbent says he's had his share of successes—and failures—along the way. PAGE 18 DEPARTMENTS PROVIDERS s RT survey reveals communication gap. PAGE 23 s Q&A: Jay Offerdahl. PAGE 23 s Bye-bye brick and mortar. PAGE 26 MOBILITY s Rehab stakeholders have ear with CMS. PAGE 29 s Webinars bring back basics. PAGE 29 s Invacare's Mark Sullivan publishes second book. PAGE 31 RX & SPECIALTY PROVIDERS s LCD could complicate wound care. PAGE 33 s Life after audits: Activa Medical embraces cash sales. PAGE 33 s New magazine launches. PAGE 34 VENDORS s The sun rises. PAGE 41 s Trouble for TENS? PAGE 41 s Vendors ready for 5010. PAGE 41 WWW.HMENEWS.COM COMPETITIVE BIDDING There's no going back BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor WASHINGTON – HME industry stake- holders, led by AAHomecare, are taking more formal steps toward an alternative competitive bid- ding system. In August, AAHomecare's board of directors approved a market- based pricing system for HME that it hopes can replace compet- itive bidding, and in September, the association blasted the news to members in an email bulletin. Reinvent and evolve VGM, MED help providers respond to new environment BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor WATERLOO, Iowa, and LUBBOCK, Texas – The VGM Group and The MED Group rolled out programs this fall that they hope will better position their provider mem- bers for a world of accountable care organizations (ACOs), bundled payments and value- based purchasing. Both programs strive to help providers help hospitals reduce readmission rates, especially for COPD patients: VGM's involves providers following up with patients in-person and VGM & MED SEE PAGE 43 A CAPITOL EVENT Members of the Michigan Independent Providers Association (MIPA) held a "Day at the Capitol" on Sept. 21. Attendees enjoyed lunch and met with Michigan lawmakers at the free event. Above, from left: Brian Griffore of Airway Oxygen, Ron DiCicco of MIPA and Steve Prucher of Spectrum Homecare discuss home care with a member of the state's Workers' Compensation Agency. Tyler Wilson The system is largely based on the work of Prof. Peter Cramton, a vocal critic of the program, but with several modi f ications and additions. "There are people who are not going to love this proposal," said Tyler Wilson, president and CEO of AAHomecare. "But you need to look at it in reality, instead of in isolation. If we do nothing, we're faced with the current program rocketing ahead into Round 2. It's not an option of doing noth- ing and going back. The option is not doing this and having the program go forward." The system includes Cramton's clearing price structure (a pro- vider who submits a market price at or below the "clearing price" would be required to accept a con- tract), bid bonds and performance ALTERNATIVE SEE PAGE 6 AASM shifts sleep strategy 'This would be a decrease in referrals' for HME providers BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor DARIEN, Ill. – A proposal that would allow sleep centers to provide CPAP equipment to Medicare benefi ciaries could threaten the role of HME providers in the market. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) on Sept. 16 released a fi nal draft of its proposal to create a pilot pro- gram with an "inte- grated sleep management delivery model." The pilot would be tested in partnership with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Nancy Collop AASM SEE PAGE 35 Stakeholders 'flip' for oxygen cap alternative 'This is the home run we can use to get rid of the 36-month oxygen cap' BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor PERRYVILLE, Mo. – Provider Pat- rick Naeger said he has proof that there's a better way to save money than a 36-month cap for home oxygen therapy. When Missouri needed to cut its Medicaid budget last year, the state proposed paying for oxy- gen the same way Medicare does. Instead, Naeger and the other members of the Missouri Med- icaid DME Advisory Committee convinced the state to adopt what they call the "Missouri Oxygen Flip"—paying less for stationary concentrators but more for por- table concentrators. The move saved the state $2.1 million in its fi rst year. "I think this is the home run we can use to get rid of the 36-month oxygen cap," said Nae- ger, executive vice president for Healthcare Equipment & Supply in Perryville. FLIP SEE PAGE 26