Archive: December 2012

As more HME providers emulate the retail success of mainstream giants like Target, it was only a matter of time before they tackled Black Friday.“This is a different twist on DME,” Heather Lotz-Klug, manager of retail sales for New Berlin-Wis.-based Home Care Medical. “The whole market is changing.”Black Friday, which marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, offers retailers a chance to woo customers with promotions like “doorbusters”—extremely...

NEENAH, Wis. - Provider Tom Wilson has had seven years to perfect his business model and is confident that it's time to make a leap.The president of The CareGiver Partnership, a mail-order provider of incontinence supplies, is seeking investors to help grow the company over the next three years‚ from its current $1.1 million to $50 million in sales.“I totally believe that is possible in a reasonably short period of time, as long as consumers are aware of us,” said Wilson. “It's...

ELYRIA, Ohio - Invacare has decided to sell Invacare Supply Group (ISG) because it was “incompatible” with its core business of manufacturing home medical equipment, says Gerry Blouch, president and CEO.While ISG has been posting solid numbers, Invacare felt that to fully optimize the business it would have had to sell supplies direct to patients, in addition to selling them to HME providers, he said.“While that type of arrangement can co-exist for someone just doing supplies, it...

ATLANTA - A recent surge of audits in Jurisdiction C are targeting “low-lying fruit,” older claims that are more likely to have problems, say consultants. RAC auditor Connolly Healthcare in the past few months has focused audits on power wheelchair claims from 2009 and 2010. “Instead of randomly picking claims to see if providers are doing things correctly, they're really going back in time—thinking that if they go back (further) they have a better chance of recouping...

MIAMI - A CBS affiliate in Miami will air a story about competitive bidding that will feature Rob Brant, a bid winner whose HME business is now closed. The story, which will air Friday, Dec. 28, will also feature an oxygen patient who could not get service from another oxygen provider after Brant's business closed. The story also reviews the market-pricing program and features interviews with other area providers and legislators.

DARIEN, Ill. - It's back to the drawing board for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) in its efforts to expand the role of physicians in sleep therapy.The association in 2011 submitted a proposal to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) seeking to create a safe harbor that would allow board-certified sleep physicians to perform and interpret sleep tests and provide CPAP devices to patients. On Nov. 27, the OIG said “no.”“OIG is not adopting the suggestion to promulgate...

GREENSBURB, Pa. - In light of continued growth, Excela Heath has promoted two members of its leadership team, according to a press release. Sherry Gaston, previously the director of laboratory and imaging services, joins the senior management team as vice president for ambulatory and diagnostic services, while John Sphon, previously chief executive of MedCare, becomes the full-time CEO of that company, of which Excela is the principal stakeholder. Under Sphon's leadership, MedCare expanded into northwest...

For mobility providers looking to enter the HME retail parade, market specialists recommend they march in with both feet and follow the scooters. As competitive bidding, strict qualifying rules and declining reimbursement levels have combined to edge many providers out of the Medicare program, it may just be the push some companies need to pursue a cash-oriented business model, says Cy Corgan, director of corporate sales for Exeter, Pa.-based Pride Mobility. “Through adversity comes opportunity,”...

BOCA RATON, Fla. - American Diabetes Services wants to be the online Costco of the HME world. So in November, the online provider launched supportplusmedical.com, a membership-driven store that accepts no insurance. The annual memberships—MedVantage and MedVantage Plus for consumers, and MedVantage Pro for healthcare professionals—offer discounts and cash-back rewards on purchases. Memberships cost $35, $55 and $110, respectively, and all have a 30-day free trial. “The market...

Sleep therapy is such a booming business that it's hardly surprising sleep-related stories once again dominated the specialty provider sector in 2012. However, unlike with 2011, which saw a handful of potentially positive changes for providers, this year's top sleep stories highlight various encroachments on the market.Far and away, the biggest issue was CMS's requirement that providers prove supplies are “non-functioning” before they can replace them (“CMS does about-face on re-supply...