Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/52926
s Industry attorney Jeff Baird says, when it comes to prepay reviews, providers need to prepare and respond. See page 13. s Product Focus: This month, manufacturers submitted their fl agship pediatric products like this Trekker Gait Trainer from Wenzelite Re/hab. See pages 28-29. HME NEWS POLL s What percentage of your claims were audited in 2011? Was this more or less than in 2010? Have you enlisted the help of an expert to help you respond to audits? See results on page 34. VOLUME 18 — NUMBER 2 FEBRUARY 2012 $7.00 THE BUSINESS NEWSP APER FOR HOME MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PRO VIDERS NEWS s PAOC fades to black. PAGE 4 s It's time for AAHomecare's Legislative Conference. PAGE 10 s North Carolina awards new diabetes contract. PAGE 11 SMART TALK s This month, our columnists tackle employee transitions, retail sales, MAC appeals and employee incentives. PAGE 14-15 COMMENTARY s Are you smart, competent and successful? People judge you by the words you use. If you want to be an effective advocate for your business and the HME industry, it pays to sharpen your vocabulary, says Drive Medical's Len Serafi no. PAGE 13 DEPARTMENTS PROVIDERS s M&A: Will the big guys buy? PAGE 17 s Retail: SAD lights. PAGE 17 s GMEA on acquisition trail. PAGE 18 MOBILITY s CMS dumps cushions from Round 2 of competitive bidding. PAGE 21 s The year in mobility stories. PAGE 21 s Business is booming at MRS. PAGE 23 RX & SPECIALTY PROVIDERS s Home infusion market "alive and well," say analysts. PAGE 25 s ASP: Budesonide up. PAGE 25 s What's on tap at this year's Focus on the Future Tradeshow? PAGE 26 VENDORS s ArjoHuntleigh goes home. PAGE 30 s CMS's new MO: Put codes on chopping block? PAGE 31 s Q&A: Mick Farrell. PAGE 32 Career day Pride Mobility Products and Quantum Rehab offered 28 students with disabilities an opportunity to be mentored by career profession- als in various fi elds as part of a recent Disability Mentoring Day at its Exeter, Pa., facility. The day is designed to bring students and job seekers with disabilities into the workplace through hands-on career exploration, on-site job shadowing and ongoing mentoring, leading to internship and employment opportunities. CMS delays demos 'until further notice' BY ELIZABETH DEPREY, Associate Editor WASHINGTON – Just days before it was set to start, CMS hit the brakes on its power mobility device demon- stration project. WWW.HMENEWS.COM CMS on Dec. 29 stated that it would delay the demo, which was set to start Jan. 1, "until further notice" and that it would give the industry at least a 30-day notice before the next start date. "We worked closely (with CMS) to have them understand the impact that this proposal would have on power mobility providers and patients," said Walt Gorski, vice president of government affairs for AAHomecare. Gorski said Walt Gorski awareness efforts in the physician and consumer commu- nities also helped generate the grass- roots efforts needed for the delay. Additionally, CMS announced that it would delay a recovery audit prepayment demo, which was set to begin Jan. 1 in 11 states. DEMO SEE PAGE 23 Rotech Healthcare looks to 'fi ll out' BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor ORLANDO, Fla. – Rotech Healthcare's announcement in December that it had acquired three home medi- cal equipment companies came as little surprise to industry watchers who say the provider has been looking to grow. Rotech on Dec. 19 announced that it has acquired Best Care HHC Acquisition Company, NeighborCare Home Medical Equipment of Maryland and Neigh- borCare Home Medical Equipment. NeighborCare ROTECH SEE PAGE 18 BID PROGRAM Going through the motions 'We're bare bones already, but we have to bid' BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor T HEIR HEARTS aren't really in it, but left with no choice, home medical equipment providers have set out to meet CMS's timeline for Round 2 of competitive bidding. CMS "strongly encouraged" registering for Round 2 of com- petitive bidding by a "targeted deadline" of Dec. 22. Some pro- viders were in less of a hurry than others. "We'll do it first thing in 2012," said Andy Simmons Jr., vice president of Cornerstone Medical in Atlanta. "We fi gured we'd let everyone else get past this imaginary target date and then we'd get in." The registration deadline for both authorized officials and backup authorized offi cials isn't until Feb. 9, but the competitive bidding implementation contrac- tor (CBIC) urged offi cials to regis- ter by Dec. 22 and Jan. 12, respec- tively, to give itself and providers time to solve any problems that might come up. Aside from some logisti- cal problems, like information entered into the registration sys- tem not matching the informa- tion on fi le, providers contacted by HME News who have already ROUND 2 SEE PAGE 8 Survey: Access denied BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor CHICAGO – Benefi ciaries in Round 1 competitive bid areas have limit- ed access to the most widely used diabetes testing supplies, says the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE). A survey by the association found that mail order contract suppliers, on average, offered only 38% of the product brands that are listed on www.medicare. gov. Of the nine brands identifi ed by the Offi ce of Inspector General in a 2010 report as the top mail order brands by market share, contract suppliers offered, on average, only 1.44 of the brands, or 16%. "We were getting all of these stories from our educators who were hearing about problems, or having their patients tell them they don't have a certain meter ACCESS SEE PAGE 26