Home Health & Hospice Week

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.

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 acquisitions, which build on Walgreens' Houston location, initially will furnish only home infusion. But Walgreens plans to add home respiratory services and HME to their offerings, it says.

Rotech's mix of business has changed, with respiratory therapy equipment and services making up 83.9 percent of revenues this quarter versus 79.3 percent in the year-ago quarter. Straight DME revenues went from 18.4 percent to 14.8 percent of revenues in the same time period, the company says.

A 24 percent revenue increase for the department comprising disease management for diabetes, respiratory, cardio and other conditions made up for a 2 percent revenue decrease for the obstetrical and maternity DM department, the Marietta, GA-based DM company says.

Because Matria will be adding staff in the fourth quarter to ramp up for new contracts starting in the new year, the company's costs will increase without corresponding revenue increases during the period, CEO Parker Petit warned.

The demand for bariatric products is increasing across all provider types, including home care, providers told the Times. Medline Industries Inc. says obesity-related products currently make up 5 percent of its sales, but the Mundelein, IL-based supplier expects that figure to jump to 10 percent as quickly as next year.

The state continues to negotiate with the feds over the plan, which is budgeted at $28 million (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XII, No. 34, p. 272). The state spends more than 90 percent of its long-term care budget on nursing home care, AP says.

A survey conducted by the Indiana Association for Home and Hospice Care found about one-fifth of responding providers throughout the state had dropped out of the waiver program, the Tribune says.