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Home Health & Hospice Week

Industry Notes:

HHA Mergers & Acquisitions Surge In 2004

Published on Thu Feb 10, 2005

HME volume remains steady while hospice deals fall.

Home health agency mergers and acquisitions seem to reflect the industry's return to health.

HHA deals rose from 45 in 2003 to a record 57 deals in 2004, say M&A experts The Braff Group in a recent report. Private buyers made 75 percent of the transactions, the Pittsburgh-based firm says. Publicly traded HHA companies are favoring their own start-ups over acquisitions, Braff notes.

Home medical equipment deals led the home care market with 90 transactions in 2004, up slightly from 86 in 2003, according to the report. Hospice M&A was down from 17 deals in 2003 to 15 deals last year.
 

  • The number of claims denied due to incorrect patient name or Health Insurance Claim number has tripled since Medicare changed its policy to require an exact match for beneficiary first initial, last name and HIC number, CMS warns. CMS has issued a Medlearn Matters article to help providers avoid these problems, at www.cms.hhs.gov/medlearn/matters/mmarticles/2005/SE0516.pdf.
     
  • Power wheelchair manufacturers with the ability to self-test their wheelchairs will be allowed to do so under the new power wheelchair coding policy.

    CMS this week updated its power wheelchair coding announcement, noting that the handful of manufacturers with internal testing facilities that meet ANSI/RESNA standards may perform a self-test on their equipment.

    "Senior management attestation to the qualifications of the internal testing facility will be required," the update states. And the results will be subject to validation by the statistical analysis durable medical equipment regional carrier. The update notice is at     www.cms.hhs.gov/suppliers/dmepos/.
     
  • Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt (R) has proposed to eliminate Medicaid coverage for hospice services, reports The Business Journal of Kansas City. If the proposal flies, Missouri would be the first state to eliminate hospice coverage from its Medicaid benefit, the paper says.
     
    Hospice advocates argue the cut actually will increase Medicaid costs by pushing beneficiaries into hospitals and emergency rooms.
     
  • Georgia HME suppliers by July 1 must employ certified personnel to supply custom rehab equipment under the state's Medicaid program.

    According to the state's Medicaid supplier manual, suppliers must be certified by the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America or an "accepted equivalent," such as the Certified Rehab Technology Supplier credential from the National Registry of Rehab Technology Suppliers.

    More information is at     www.ghp.georgia.gov/wps/output/en_US/public/Provider/MedicaidManuals/Durable_Medical_Equipment_manual_draft01_Final.pdf.
     
  • Jupiter Medical Center of Jupiter, FL has sold its home care unit to Stuart-based VNA of Florida, reports The Palm Beach Post. The VNA has offered jobs to all of Jupiter's 65 employees. The hospital sold the home health unit because it had lost money the last few years, according to the Post.
     
  • Despite a drop in revenues, Rotech Healthcare managed to significantly boost its profits last year.

    The Orlando, FL-based respiratory and DME provider reported net earnings of $38.2 million for fiscal year 2004 on revenue of $534.5 million. That compares to net earnings of $8.4 million on revenues of $581.2 million in the previous year. Respiratory therapy equipment and services accounted for 86.6 percent of the company's 2004 revenues, while DME made up 12.2 percent.
     
  • Two more defendants have been convicted in a $17 million DME fraud scheme in Miami.
     
    The jury verdicts against Stephanie Smith and Miraidy Gonzalez bring to 12 the number of persons convicted in the case, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Marcos Daniel Jimnez. The scheme allegedly involved DME companies paying kickbacks and fraudulently billing Medicare for custom orthotic devices and other medical equipment and services.

    Smith owned a medical clinic and supplied false prescriptions used in the scheme, while Gonzalez worked at a billing company that created fake patient files and submitted the false claims to Medicare.

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