Blogs

YARMOUTH, Maine – Technology has been on the minds of a lot of people these days. You can’t open the New York Times without seeing yet another article on ChatGPT or AI in general.  The former I find particularly concerning as a writer, not just because I don’t want my words cribbed by some work-shy, wannabe wordsmith, but because I think we’re already becoming less able to think critically and individually, even before we try outsourcing the need to, you know, think.   More...

YARMOUTH, Maine – It was big news when UnitedHealthcare announced it would reduce the number of product codes requiring prior authorizations. Cigna soon followed suit and then Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and others. While it was big news, it wasn’t surprising.  The American Medical Association (AMA) has been on a fierce campaign to reduce prior authorizations. On its website, the AMA characterizes it this way: “Prior authorization is a health plan cost-control process...

You’d have to be living under a rock not to know what semaglutides are these days. (Tell that to Microsoft Word, though – it didn’t tell me my initial spelling of semaglutides – semi vs. sema – was wrong.) Semaglutides, of course, are the new weight loss medications that go by brand names like Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus. It’s hard to keep track of which celebrities have been on it, are on it or are denying being on it.   But I’d be lying if I weren’t...

We’ve burned through the first half of 2023 already and what do we have to show for it?  If the most read stories from January through June are any indication, it’s disruption, innovation and growth.  Let’s start with disruption. It has come in a number of forms in 2023, including one of the HME industry’s legacy manufacturers, Invacare, filing for bankruptcy. We posted a story about that to our website in February, and it remains the most read story of the...

I am currently in the market for a new used car, my first in 10 years. While I knew it was coming, the news came as an unwelcome shock because I, too, have heard about the vehicle shortages, high costs and high interest rates that have turned what was already an unpleasant experience, at best, into a Hunger Games-style free-for-all. Over at my work desk, the big news is the Humana contracts, an exciting opportunity for AdaptHealth and Rotech and a source of dread and anxiety for everyone else...

Recently, I wrote about the news that Humana has contracted with AdaptHealth and Rotech Healthcare to provide HME products and services to its Medicare Advantage HME members.  Now, another giant health care company is making waves in the HME industry: Optum, which has been a subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare since 2011 and which earlier this year bought LHC Group for a reported $5.4 billion.  LHC Group has 30,000 employees delivering home health, hospice, home- and community-based services,...

As we were putting the finishing touches on this June issue, news broke that Humana has contracted with AdaptHealth and Rotech Healthcare, two national HME providers, to provide HME products and services to its Medicare Advantage HMO members.  This is a big deal for a whole lotta reasons.  We’ve all read the headlines. Insurers are increasingly targeting Medicare Advantage plans as a source of growth. Last year, Humana outlined plans to expand its Medicare HMO offerings, specifically,...

This month, editor Liz and I had a lot of fun with our cartoon, which plays off the news that Medline has partnered with Martha Stewart on a new line of home safety and mobility items. Martha’s instantly recognizable and lauded for, among other things, her good taste, two attributes that I am sure Medline is banking on.  We changed it up a bit, though, by swapping out Martha’s famous, “That’s a good thing,” with one from her pal, Snoop Dogg, “If the ride...

Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty and I conduct quite a few interviews for the stories that appear in HME News. By all accounts, our May issue features quotes from more than 40 different people. I hope that’s not lost on you, dear readers, as this is one of the things that sets HME News apart. We’re on the phone with providers, manufacturers, vendors, consultants and other HME-affiliated professionals every day, discussing industry trends and developments, teasing out challenges...

One of the members of an online diabetes forum I’m in generated much excitement last week when she posted a pic comparing the size of her old FreeStyle Libre sensor with the latest generation, which is about a third of the original’s size.  “Wow!” “Amazing!” That was the general consensus.  Smaller in size means less noticeable (less face it, CGMs, while a thing of beauty in terms of technology and their impact on users’ lives, are not, well,...