Home Health & Hospice Week

DME contractor reform delayed a bit, CMS also says in forum.

Durable medical equipment suppliers won't be able to escape accreditation by bowing out of competitive bidding.

All DME providers will be required to demonstrate that they meet quality standards by becoming accredited, said officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at the Home Health, DME and Hospice Open Door Forum held March 24. That includes even those companies that opt not to participate in competitive bidding, they noted.

CMS will designate one or more accrediting organizations to accredit all DME providers in the country. The organizations have assured the agency they will have the capacity to handle the demand.

The agency also addressed contractor reform for suppliers. CMS is postponing the date it's releasing its request for proposals on the DME administrative contracts because of the heavy volume of comments it has received on the matter.

The agency originally planned on releasing the RFP at the end of March but has postponed the release date until April 15, staff announced at the forum. The agency will also extend the proposal due date two weeks to June 3. However, it still plans on awarding contracts by Dec. 30.

Vermont may soon relax its certificate of need rules, if the state follows the recommendation of an oversight committee.
 
The state Public Oversight Commission voted March 24 to recommend opening up the home care market beyond the current 12 visiting nurse associations that hold CONs, reports The Burlington Free Press. The commissioner of the state's Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration will make the final call.

The report endorses allowing Professional Nurses Services of Winooski to serve Medicare patients, within certain limitations, reports the Associated Press. PNS would have to obtain Medicare certification to do so.

The U.S. Department of Justice currently is investigating Vermont VNAs for anti-trade practices (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XIII, No. 43).
  Financial management professionals in home care now have a trade association devoted to them. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice has created the Home Care & Hospice Financial Management Association for financial managers and consultants. Eligibility for HHFMA membership requires employment by a NAHC member.
  Monochromatic infrared photo energy, otherwise known as Anodyne therapy, is proving successful in restoring foot sensation, according to a study published in the March/April 2005 issue of The Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association.

In a study of more than 1,000 patients with peripheral neuropathy, 56 percent of patients with loss of protective sensation (LOPS) treated with Anodyne therapy regained protective sensation, according to the study's abstract.

Prior to receiving Anodyne treatments, study patients with peripheral neuropathy had sensory loss at 7.9 sites of 10 sites tested on their feet, says a [...]