Home Health & Hospice Week

Will you get a new carrier? The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has launched its Medicare contractor reform initiative - and first up is durable medical equipment.

Under the Medicare Modernization Act, CMS must conduct full and open competitions for new Medicare Administrative Contractors, which will perform the work now being handled by fiscal intermediaries and carriers in Medicare's fee-for-service program.

The agency says it chose to start with DME because the workload of the four existing DME regional carriers is stable, minimizing the risk of disruption to beneficiaries and providers.

CMS plans to release a Request for Information inviting the industry and other interested parties to share comments, questions and concerns about the pro-cess. Originally scheduled for release Feb. 1, the RFI was delayed for "technical reasons," a CMS source says.

The agency also plans to hold an Open Door Forum for additional discussion before developing a formal Request for Proposal. More information about the contracting reform process is at www.cms.hhs.gov/medicarereform/contractingreform.   The Senate swore in former Utah governor Michael O. Leavitt as the new Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Jan. 26, following the Finance Committee's approval the day before.

Speaking before a voice vote, Finance chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) reminded the Senate that the Medicare drug benefit and pay for performance were going to be challenging priorities.

In one of his first speeches as HHS Secretary, Leavitt suggested home care as a way to rein in Medi-caid spending, reports the National Association for Home Care & Hospice.
  Don't hold your breath for CMS to announce new oxygen rates, as the agency still has no idea when that they will be set, staff reported during the Jan. 25 Open Door Forum for home care providers. MMA-mandated payment cuts have been delayed while the HHS Office of Inspector General finalizes Federal Employee Health Benefit Plan data used to calculate the reductions (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XIV, No 3, p. 19).

"There's no point in drawing a line and saying some arbitrary date," a CMS official said in the forum. "As soon as they can finalize the data, we will implement it."
  Federal agents raided the offices of a Florida home oxygen provider last month shortly after Clearwater-based Lincare Holdings Inc.acquired it, the St. Petersburg Times reports.

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation searched five offices owned by Bane Medical Services Inc. and seized various documents, according to the paper. Bane Medical is based in Plant City, FL and has offices in Bradenton, Port Charlotte, Sebring and Sarasota. Owner Ben Bane ran the business until December, when Lincare acquired it for an undisclosed amount. 
  Regional powerhouse Amedisys Inc. has purchased more home health agencies from South Carolina-based Winyah Health [...]