What Would You Tell Kerry Weems?

At the time our staff planned HomeCare's editorial calendar for 2008, we decided it would be beneficial to present information from their peers that might...

Vacuum Cleaner Noise

Gail Walker gwalker@homecaremag.com

I was hoping by the time I wrote this column the industry might be celebrating the demise of competitive bidding or, at least, its delay. No such luck....

NOTABLE & QUOTABLE

On May 21, the House Small Business Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepreneurship held a hearing on competitive bidding to determine its impact on...

Ability Matters

By Erin Greer

If you ask the National Organization on Disability, they'll tell you that It's ability not disability that counts. And to prove it, each year the organization...

Weighty Issues

By Betsy Frances

There's no question about it. America has a weight problem, and there are no signs that the population will change its ways and trim down anytime in the...

Orthopedic Softgoods/Compression Hoisery

DM Systems/Bariatric Boot Heelift Bariatric Suspension Boot heel pressure ulcer prevention for patients who weigh up to 600 pounds and have a calf circumference...

TRENDS

The increasing number of Americans with arthritis is fueling the sale of orthopedic braces and supports, according to market research firm Frost & Sullivan....

Breathing Room

By Rebecca Grilliot

Any way you look at it, home oxygen providers are finding it more difficult to breathe under current market conditions. As Medicare continues to slash...

Keep Up the Momentum

By Tyler Wilson

Our industry has been working double-time to convince Congress to delay competitive bidding and raise awareness about bidding problems. Efforts to educate...

An Industry Turning Point

By Cara C. Bachenheimer, Esq.

May 2008 marked a major turning point for the industry and its campaign against the durable medical equipment bidding program that CMS is planning on...

Time for a Change

By Wallace Weeks

Recently I was driving to my home in Florida from Charleston, S.C., which I had never done before. Not knowing what to expect, I asked the clerk at a...

Get Out of the Office

By Louis Feuer, MA, MSW

These are difficult times in our industry. What we must keep in mind is that the population of customers who need our services continues to grow. So while...

Keep That Eraser Handy

By Mary Ellen Conway, RN, BSN

Not surprisingly, Medicare has issued new deadlines for accreditation with regard to competitive bidding. First, here are the dates that have not changed....

HME PRODUCTS

Bruno Independent Living Aids/Vehicle Accessory Autoadapt Driving Controls hand control designed to give disabled and elderly drivers the benefit of control...

Summer Initiatives

30 years ago Today, CMS touts competitive bidding as the revolutionary new way to reduce Medicare spending, but 30 years ago, what was then called the...

HME Headlines

CMS Announces Round One Bid Winners On May 19, CMS released the names of 325 contract winners for round one of competitive bidding. For the complete list,...

Working Down Denials with Sarah Hanna

Sarah Hanna

Noridian Administrative Services (NAS), the Jurisdiction D DME MAC, showed an increase in CO172 (provider specialty code not valid for this type of service)...