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Report: Roche mulls sale of blood-glucose monitor business
From: Indiana Business Journal
J.K. Wall
Roche Diagnostics Corp. is mulling a sale of its blood-glucose meter business, according to a Reuters report, a move that would cast uncertainty over the nearly 1,000 people working for its diabetes business in Indianapolis.
Reuters reported the potential sale on Wednesday, citing three people familiar with the matter. A Roche spokesman declined to comment to IBJ.
The entire blood-glucose meter industry is facing a huge hit to sales on July 1, when the federal Medicare program will start a competitive bidding program for blood-glucose testing strips and supplies, which could cut its payments as much as 72 percent. The Medicare program for seniors is the largest health insurance program in the United States.
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Some contract suppliers may not meet requirements
From: HME News
by: Theresa Flaherty
YARMOUTH, Maine – As HME stakeholders continue to pore over the list of Round 2 contract suppliers, it’s become more and more clear that some may not meet various licensing requirements—a condition of winning a contract.
“How are they granted awards if they didn’t meet state qualifications for licensure?” asked Jeff Mastei, director of compliance and audits for Dearborn, Mich.-based Wright & Filippis.
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Medicare fraud targets seniors, scooters: ‘I don’t need it. I don’t want it.’
From: San Luis Obispo Tribune
By Lindsay Wise — McClatchy Washington Burea
WASHINGTON — Dr. Charlotte Kennedy first became suspicious earlier this year when she received a fax from a medical supply company asking her to authorize a back brace for a 92-year-old patient.
The doctor from Chesterfield, Mo., had recently examined the patient, who’d never mentioned any back problems. In fact, the woman was an avid gardener. “She’s picking up sweet gum balls in her yard every day,” Kennedy said. But the fax said the woman had requested the brace, so Kennedy called her.
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Will ‘pay for’ pass muster with CBO?
From: HME News
by: Liz Beaulieu
WASHINGTON – HME industry stakeholders expect to find out soon if the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) agrees that their bill to replace competitive bidding with a market-pricing program (MPP) is budget neutral.
“Now that the bill has dropped and now that the CBO has dealt with some of the other issues they’ve had to deal with, we expect a score to be coming,” said Cara Bachenheimer, senior vice president of government relations for Invacare.
Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., introduced H.R. 1717 on April 24 with 25 co-sponsors.
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Senate finance members hint at changes to Medicare, Medicaid
From: Home Care Magazine
While everyone agrees that preventing waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid is a top priority, questions abound about how to achieve that goal. How should the federal government preserve integrity in health care programs as well as a healthy marketplace and access to quality care at the same time?
Last year, the Senate Finance Committee invited stakeholders to submit white papers with recommendations about how to improve program integrity in Medicare and Medicaid. A bipartisan report released this week by five members of the Finance Committee summarized concerns raised by the healthcare industry, patient advocates and other stakeholder groups about how to improve efforts to prevent waste, fraud and abuse. The key recommendations that emerged from the 146 stakeholder groups focused on improper payments, audit burdens, enforcement issues, data management and protecting beneficiaries.
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Study finds fundamental flaws in new Medicare bidding program
From: Memphis Business Journal
Cole Epley
Come July 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will implement a new process through which businesses that service and sell durable medical equipment and supplies will compete for Medicare business.
The program is designed to foster more competition and, in turn, influence more cost-effective supplies and service for Medicare beneficiaries.
But local businesses in the space have already sounded off on the so-called competitive bidding program — one of whom told MBJ the program is a “de facto way of not providing services” — and study results published in the May issue of the Quarterly Journal of Economics are likely to add fuel to those entities’ opposition of the program.
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Rep. Price drops MPP bill
From: HME News
WASHINGTON – Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., on April 24 reintroduced a bill to replace competitive bidding with the HME industry’s market-pricing program (MPP).
Out of the gate, H.R. 1717 has 25 co-sponsors—nearly double the 13 co-cosponsors the previous bill had when it was introduced in September. That bill eventually gained 94 co-sponsors.
The second phase of competitive bidding is set to kick off July 1 in 91 cities. Single payment amounts for Round 2, announced Jan. 30, are, on average, 45% below the current fee schedule.
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Providers try to make sense of it all
From: HME News
by: Theresa Flaherty
YARMOUTH, Maine – From providers getting contracts to service areas located thousands of miles away to providers unprepared to service contracts in their local areas, sources predict problems aplenty when Round 2 goes into effect July 1.
“It’s going to be a nightmare,” said Mike Marnhout, owner/president of Lexington, Ky.-based Bluegrass Medical, which received contracts in Round 1 but not in Round 2.
Since the list of contract suppliers was released April 9, providers have been doing some analysis of their own. And they don’t like what they see.
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Mail order contracts: Expect big to get bigger
From: HME News
by: Theresa Flaherty
BALTIMORE – CMS released a list of 18 contract suppliers for the national mail-order program for diabetes supplies April 9, but it’s a list that could look different when July 1 rolls around, say industry sources.
“Several of the companies have been put up for sale, and we know of one or two that have already been sold,” said Tom Milam, an industry consultant and former provider.
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DMEPOS Contract Suppliers Announced: National Mail Order Diabetic Testing Supplies and Round 2
From: CMS
CMS has announced the contract suppliers for Round 2 and the national mail-order program of the Medicare Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) Competitive Bidding Program.
A list of contract supplier names is available at www.dmecompetitivebid.com. Contract supplier locations for each product category in each competitive bidding area can be found in the Supplier Directory at www.medicare.gov/supplier.
For additional information:
New Name for CBIC Ombudsmen