Industry Notes:
Apria Posts Double-Digit Revenue Increase
Published on Thu Oct 30, 2003
An 11 percent increase to revenues and a 9 percent increase to net income were a few of the highlights from Apria Healthcare Group Inc.'s latest earnings report. The Lake Forest, CA-based respiratory, infusion and home medical equipment company made a whopping 21 acquisitions for $88.6 million in the first three quarters of 2003. That compares to competitor Lincare Holdings Inc.'s 11 acquisitions during the same period (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XII, No. 38, p. 302). Apria whittled its days' sales outstanding to 51 days at the end of the most recent quarter, Sept. 30. That's down from 52 days at June 30, the company says. Apria recorded net income of $28.9 million for the quarter, up 9 percent from $26.5 million for the same period in 2002. Revenues increased 11 percent to $346.3 million for the quarter, compared to $312.0 million a year ago. Two new OASIS tools are up on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Web site. Home health agencies can download an OASIS followup assessment scheduling calendar for 2004 as well as a revised Appendix C for the OASIS manual. The revised chapter includes sample forms and a patient tracking sheet that incorporate changes from the OASIS data set that went into effect Oct. 1. They are available at www.cms.hhs. gov/oasis/hhnew.asp. A common working file edit flagging too many immunosuppressive drug claims should soon get fixed by the durable medical equipment regional carriers. An edit designed to weed out duplicate immunosuppressive drug claims isn't working properly, CMS points out in Oct. 17 Transmittal No. 7. The problem: The edit sends out an alert whenever immunosuppressive drug claims are submitted along with other, non-immunosuppressive drug DME items on the same date of service by the same supplier. The agency mandates that the edit be fixed by April 1, 2004. HHA regulation often follows in the footsteps of nursing homes - and that could include tougher surveys ahead as quality of care takes center stage. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) recently held a series of oversight hearings that warn of increasing scrutiny for home care providers. Focusing on a July General Accounting Office report, Grassley said he would demand a "timeline" from CMS for taking GAO-recommended steps to strengthen oversight of the state survey process. But CMS administrator Tom Scully noted that CMS' funding for overseeing the survey process has been held flat for several years. Although the hearings focused on nursing home deficiencies, Grassley said he would ask the GAO "to look into the adequacy of federal funding for state survey and certification activities - not just for nursing homes but for other providers, such as home health care." The home nursing market is attracting more outside [...]
