NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (August 17, 2017)—The Home Medical Equipment and Services Association of New England (HOMES) is pleased to announce that registration is open for the HOMES Fall Membership Meeting on October 4, 2017 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nashua, New Hampshire. The Education Committee has created a packed agenda with amazing speakers:
—Via AAHomecare—WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 16, 2017)—Last year, CMS finalized the rule to move forward with expanding the prior authorization (PA) program. Although the program has great support from the industry, AAHomecare expressed concern with the lack of physician involvement in the correspondence of the PA decision. Unlike the PMD Demonstration, under the PA expansion, DME MACs cannot automatically communicate with referring physicians on the PA decision.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 16, 2017)—Last month, CMS published the annual Medicare Fee-For-Service Improper Payments Report. CMS reports that for dates of service between July 2014–June 2015, the error rate for DMEPOS was 46 percent, which is an increase of 7 percent from the previous year. For the report, 10,999 DMEPOS claims were reviewed. However, CMS states that the majority of this rate is attributed to insufficient documentation and not due to medical necessity.
—Via AAHomecare—WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 15, 2017)—On account of requests from several providers to extend the deadline to enter 2nd Quarter 2017 HME Audit Key data, the survey will remain open until Friday, August 25.
Use of products and treatment success depend on many factors
Proposed rule updates geographic areas and mandatory participation requirements.
—Via CMS—WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 15, 2017)—Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed rule to reduce the number of mandatory geographic areas participating in the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s (Innovation Center) Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) model from 67 to 34. In addition, CMS proposes to allow CJR participants in the 33 remaining areas to participate on a voluntary basis.
Learn how managing your online reputation can lead to better in-store sales
Report says gardening and musical instruments are more beneficial to brain health than puzzle learning games.
BANGOR, Wales (August 14, 2017)—A care provider in Wales says it encourages its service users to engage in activities such as learning an instrument or gardening after a report revealed these are the best ways to stimulate the brain.
White paper will serve as tool for industry advocacy.
WATERLOO, Iowa (August 14, 2017)—U.S. Rehab, a division of the VGM Group Inc., released its white paper analyzing the current state of the DMEPOS industry.
The community seeks to unite special needs family with resources and each other.
SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. (August 14, 2017)—Inspired by Drive, a Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare-owned brand, officially launched its new “Live Inspired” online community last week.