Home Health & Hospice Week
FEDS, CONSULTANTS CAUTION WOULD-BE BIDDERS
Don't delay if you're a home medical equipment supplier in one of the areas slated for the launch of Medicare's competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies.
Officials for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reiterated the caution at the May 23 Home Health, Hospice and DME Open Door Forum.
"If you're serious about participating in phase one, you should have already applied for accreditation" or be accredited, said CMS' Joel Kaiser at the forum.
Most likely not to succeed: Small suppliers who aren't members of trade groups or tapped into industry trade publications are likely to fall by the wayside, predicts Wayne Link of Link Consulting Group. "There are a fair share of suppliers out there who don't even know this is coming," he reports.
Under the recently issued bidding final rule, in 2008 Medicare will limit provision of 10 categories of DMEPOS in 10 cities only to those suppliers who win the bid for those items. (For a list of bidding items and other details, see Eli's HCW, Vol. XVI, No. 12). Bidding will spread to 70 cities the next year.
Kaiser also reiterated these cautions at the forum:
• Suppliers must provide every item in the competitive bidding category on which they bid.
• If you are a home health agency that bills for DMEPOS on your home health claims with an HHA provider number, you will need to bid and win a contract to continue serving your own patients in the same way.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Prospective Payment System:
PPS FINAL RULE ON THE FAST TRACK
CMS reveals PPS details in forum.
The year-end rush to implement prospective payment system changes may [...] - Supplies:
KEEP YOUR SUPPLIES CALCULATIONS SIMPLE WITH CMS CONFIRMATION
Each category receives one flat rate add-on.
In the very intricate changes proposed to the prospective [...] - Competitive Bidding:
FEDS, CONSULTANTS CAUTION WOULD-BE BIDDERS
Know your bidding basics.
Don't delay if you're a home medical equipment supplier in one of [...] - Accreditation:
DON'T LET THESE CB DETAILS SLIDE
June brings first deadline.
If you’re in the grips of phase one [...] - OASIS:
PPS REFINEMENTS INCLUDE THESE 5 OASIS CHANGES
Expert payment diagnoses to become much more complex.
Get ready for your OASIS instrument to look [...] - Recruitment & Retention:
DON'T LET RECORD-BREAKING GAS PRICES BREAK YOUR TEAM
2 key strategies can salvage staff morale during a fuel crunch.
Damage control is the name [...] - Strategy:
TAME FUEL COSTS WITH 3 TIPS
Telehealth becomes more cost effective.
Fuel savings may be hiding in new approaches to how your [...] - Industry Notes:
PHYSICIAN NPI DIRECTORY SCHEDULED AT LAST
Does' NPIs to be available on the Internet.
You finally have a date that you can [...]
