CMS Declares Health Outcomes “Stable” in Comp Bidding Areas
WASHINGTON, DC - In the middle of last week’s AAHomecare Conference, CMS released a “broad-view analysis” assessing the impact of DMEPOS competitive bidding. more »

Community Pharmacy Options for Military Personnel in Jeopardy
Advocates called on Congress to reject budget proposals that would limit pharmacy choice for TRICARE (military health plan) beneficiaries. more »

CMS Spotlights Infection Rates at American Hospitals
WASHINGTON, DC - The issue of hospital-born infections has long been a concern among home care advocates, with Mal Mixon, chairman of Invacare, bringing up the point in a Feb 10 letter to the Wall Street Journal. more »

Medtrade Spring: Knowledge, New Products, Inspiration
LAS VEGAS - Whatever happens with competitive bidding in the next two months, Medtrade will remain the place for answers. more »

Win, Lose, or Sell?
- Greg Thompson
PITTSBURGH - Officials at QualiCare Home Medical won competitive bidding contracts for oxygen, CPAP, hospital beds, and walkers. Despite those victories, owners found little reason to celebrate. more »

Senator Questions Prescription Drug Mega Merger
ALEXANDRIA, VA - The head of the Senate’s antitrust subcommittee voiced major concerns last week over the proposed mega-merger of prescription drug middlemen Express Scripts and Medco. more »

Are Hospitals Required to Give Patient Choice?
- Jeffrey S. Baird, JD
AMARILLO, TX - Is the hospital required to give patient choice? The short answer is “yes.” more »

State of the Union: Jobs and More Jobs
WASHINGTON, DC - President Obama said the word “jobs” 33 times during last week’s State of the Union Address, a testament to the importance of the economy during an election year. more »

Pharmacy: Lawmakers Send Letter to Acting CMS Administrator
ALEXANDRIA, VA - Twenty-five lawmakers sent a letter last week to the acting CMS administrator expressing concerns over proposed federal upper limits for Medicaid generic drug reimbursement. more »

Fraud Indictments Hit DME Companies in Puerto Rico
SAN JUAN, PR - The indictment alleges that a DME company called Monte Mar submitted at least 1,518 false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. more »

Pharmacists Share Patient Access Concerns with CMS
ALEXANDRIA, VA - The NCPA is calling on Medicare officials to authorize a Special Enrollment Period to allow patients to enroll in a new Medicare Part D prescription drug plan. more »

Employee vs Independent Contractor: Under the Law, There is a Huge Difference
- Jeffrey S. Baird, JD
In short, “real world rules” do not apply to HME providers. A prime example of this is how the law looks at W2 employees vs 1099 independent contractors. more »

CMS Touts Low Growth Rate for Health Care Spending
WASHINGTON, DC - According to CMS analysts, national health expenditures in 2009 and 2010 hit a historically low rate of increase. more »

CVS Caremark Pharmacy Reaches $5 Million Settlement with FTC
ALEXANDRIA, VA - The FTC announced last week that CVS Caremark agreed to pay $5 million to settle allegations that the company overcharged seniors and taxpayers. more »

Legal Restrictions When Switching Employers
- Todd A. Moody, JD
AMARILLO, TX - Moving from one employer to another is relatively easy in the real world, but it is fraught with pitfalls in the health care industry. more »

Medtrade Spring 2012: Registration is Open
LAS VEGAS - Registration for Medtrade Spring 2012 is in full swing, and the special holiday conference rate has been extended to Jan 13. With changes coming down the pike, Medtrade Spring is a great way to gain valuable knowledge that is vital to your business. more »

Invacare Corp Bolsters Quality Assurance with New Senior VP
ELYRIA, Ohio - Doug Uelmen joins the Ohio-based giant as a veteran of more than 30 years in quality and regulatory roles. more »

DME Owner Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison
HOUSTON - A DME provider has been sentenced to 145 months in federal prison for defrauding the Texas Medicaid program. more »

Anti-Trust Guidance Issued by CMS
WASHINGTON, DC - CMS took the opportunity last week to remind suppliers to set bid prices independently. more »

Obama Highlights Home Health Workers
WASHINGTON, DC - A mid December White House blog and speech from President Obama cast a bright light on “home health” workers. more »

NCPA Predicts Turmoil for Rural Pharmacies
ALEXANDRIA, VA - NCPA officials anticipate trouble if proposed CMS changes go through. more »

Smart Phones Cross Into Diabetes Equipment Territory
WORCESTER, MA – Diabetes equipment providers take note: a team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute has received a $1.2 million award from the NSF to develop a smart phone application for people with advanced diabetes. more »

Media Watch: Advocates Decry “Peter Pan” Homes
NEW YORK, NY - Media coverage on the benefits of home care took an uptick last week with features in the New York Times and the Associated Press. more »

Today is Our Day
- Shelly Prial
Many of the problems facing our industry can be resolved if we, as a team, gather our forces into one powerful voice. more »

Tavenner Nomination Gains Some GOP Support
WASHINGTON, DC - 
In the wake of the CMS Administrator’s resignation 2 weeks ago, successor Marilyn Tavenner is gaining some momentum. more »

Medtrade Spring: Registration Opens in Seven Days
LAS VEGAS - Registration for Medtrade Spring 2012 begins on December 12. Those who take initiative before 2011 is over can take advantage of a $79 special holiday rate. more »

Feds Still on the Lookout for Kickbacks and Inducements
- Jeffrey S. Baird, JD
AMARILLO, TX - HME companies must deal with myriad anti-fraud statutes that restrict what they can do with existing and prospective customers. more »

CMS Administrator Resigns
WASHINGTON, DC - In an expected move, Donald M. Berwick, MD, resigned his post as CMS administrator last week. more »

Census Bureau: We’re Not Getting Any Younger
WASHINGTON, DC - In 1980, there were 720,000 people aged 90 and older in the United States. In 2010, there were 1.9 million people 90 and older. more »

Medtrade Spring Offers Solutions as Legislative Threats Loom
LAS VEGAS - Nielsen Expositions’ Medtrade Spring 2012 is a great way to gain valuable knowledge that is vital to your business. Medtrade Spring will take place April 10 – 12 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. more »

Medtrade: See What You Missed
ATLANTA - Download audio and slides of the entire show, or order a DVD-ROM instead. more »

Aging in Place Gains Momentum at Medtrade
ATLANTA - The problem is that health professionals do not talk in drawings, sketches, plans, and permits. However, construction folks do. more »

Competitive Bidding Central Buoys Spirits, Spreads Knowledge
ATLANTA - For three days at Medtrade, questions about bid methodology and post-bid business challenges dominated discussions led by owners of HME companies who won round one bidding contracts. more »

Medtrade: Networking and Fund Raising Foster Unity
ATLANTA - A Lunch and Learn roundtable attracted 175 attendees, while Stand Up for Homecare raised more than $70,000. more »

New Products Nab Awards at Medtrade
ATLANTA - The New Product Pavilion featured the latest innovations in home medical equipment, and once again proved popular with many attendees. more »

Medtrade Impact Spreads
ATLANTA - A few weeks after 9,300 HME providers, home health professionals, and leading manufacturers departed the World Congress Center in Atlanta, the knowledge and motivation gained from Medtrade continues to inspire. more »

Q2 M&A: Specialty HME More Attractive
CHICAGO - Number crunchers at The Braff Group revealed a 15% decline in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal volume for the second quarter of 2011, but a strong start still means overall totals are up over last year. more »

Realism and Optimism Mix at Medtrade
Many long-time attendees characterized the mood as a mix of realism and optimism, combined with a true thirst for new ideas. “We all know that the need for our products and services will increase, so we have to learn how to survive in our bright but different future,” said Tom Ryan more »

Quiet Death for CLASS Act
WASHINGTON, DC - The New York Times reported last week that a law aimed at transforming long-term care had “quietly died.” more »

Purely Academic: Professor Katzman Unloads on Competitive Bidding
- Greg Thompson
KENNESAW, GA - Brett Katzman, PhD, is no shill for the HME industry. As an expert on auction systems, the economics professor at Kennesaw State University is merely concerned with what works. The big question: Why isn’t CMS equally concerned? more »

Fraud at Premier?: “Nothing Further from the Truth”
JEFFERSONVILLE, IN — United States Attorney Joseph H. Hogsett announced that Premier Home Care had agreed to pay damages resulting from fraudulent acts. "Premier did not admit liability, nor is there any to admit," responded an official at Premier. more »

DME Acquisitions “Up Significantly” in 2011
- Greg Thompson
MARINA DEL REY, CA - National and regional DME companies are scooping up mom-and-pop shops in 2011 at a much higher clip than last year. Jack Eskenazi, owner of American HealthCare Capital, pegs the increase in acquisitions volume at roughly triple that of 2010. more »

Cautious Optimism for Alzheimer's
LOS ANGELES - New drugs in the pipeline could offer hope, and one in particular may help lower levels of amyloid plaque in the brains of people with the disease. more »

National Study Identifies Best Home Care Agency Practices
ALTOONA, PA - Studies have projected home health care among the top growth areas of the next two decades. However, costly concerns about rehospitalization cloud the optimism. more »

ACA Utilization Going Up
WASHINGTON, DC - After the recent Kaiser Family Foundation study painted a distinctly dour picture of health care in America, HHS did its best to brighten the landscape with an upbeat assessment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). more »

Six Months After Tornado: "No Change, No Progress"
- Greg Thompson
CORDOVA, AL - Half a year after a string of storms devastated wide swaths of the southern United States, Ken Glover, RPH, is still operating from a large trailer, filling prescriptions for thankful patients. more »

Relief for California Credit Crunch?
LOS ANGELES - Three California community banks received a $30.4 million cash infusion from the U.S. Treasury this week, with all funds earmarked for the Small Business Lending Fund. Cash-strapped home care companies in the golden state could conceivably take advantage of the new funds, but it’s hard to find a DME that is actually looking to beef up its operations. more »

Wages Down, Health Expenses Up
MENLO PARK, Calif — Following a relentless trend, the cost for employer-sponsored health coverage went up again this year. Results from the 2011 Employer Health Benefits Survey compiled by Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust pegged the increase at 9%. more »

Small Mention for DME in ACA Anniversary Document
WASHINGTON, DC - The only mention of DME in the government’s 1-year anniversary review of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a one-paragraph summary touting efforts to reduce fraud. more »