HME News is the monthly business newspaper for home medical equipment providers. This controlled circulation publication reaches 17,100 home medical equipment services providers, including traditional HME dealers & suppliers, hospital- and pharmacy-o
Issue link: https://hme.epubxp.com/i/682935
■ ■ CRT advocate Arthur Hadley is raising money and improving access with a Wheelchair Challenge. See story next page. CMS considers codes for prior auth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Hoveround unaccounted for in Round 2 re-compete 14 Mobility stakeholders hold expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Conference focuses on access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 14 hme news / june 2016 / www.hmenews.com Briefs wheel:Life partners with BLVD.com ATLANTA – Wheel:Life and BLVD.com have joined forces to help more disabled con- sumers locate and acquire adaptive ve- hicles for personal use. Wheel:Life read- ers will have access to a series of infor- mational articles on accessible vehicles and direct links to locate them on BLVD. com, a website that connects individuals with accessible vehicle dealers. They will also have the ability to list their adapted vehicle on the "for sale by owner" section of the website. "One of the most urgent needs within our audience is fnding reli- able, accessible transportation," said Lisa Wells, director of Wheel: Life, in a release. "Not everyone has the fnancial resources to buy a brand new, customized vehicle straight off the lot." spinLife offers scholarship opportunity COLUMBUS, Ohio – SpinLife, a direct-to-con- sumer DME retailer, is accepting applica- tions for its 2016 SpinLife Innovation in Motion Scholarship program. The annual competition is open to manual and power wheelchair users enrolled at an accredited four-year college or university. Applicants must submit an essay or poem, painting, or another medium to express what "life in motion"—this year's theme—means to them. SpinLife will award a $1,000 schol- arship to the winner and $500 gift cards to SpinLife.com to two runners-up. Disability leaders join ResnA project ARLINGTON, Va. – Helen MacNabb and Andrew Winnegar have been named co-directors of the RESNA Catalyst Project. MacNabb will be the overall lead on project manage- ment and administration, while Winnegar will head up core training and the technical assistance components of the project. The RESNA Catalyst Project provides technical assistance to the Assistive Technology Act grantees, helping them increase awareness around AT issues, as well as access to and acquisition of AT devices and services for consumers with disabilities. Bussani mobility supports mobility Awareness month campaign BETHPAGE, N.Y. – In honor of National Mo- bility Awareness Month, Bussani Mobility, a provider of wheelchair accessible vans, is giving away three wheelchair accessible vans through an online contest. Celebrated in May, the awareness month was created to educate seniors, veterans and caregiv- ers about the many wheelchair accessible vehicles and adaptive mobility equipment options available. To win, participants must submit their written or videotaped stories about how they have overcome their mobility issues through their academ- ic and career ambitions. The winners will be announced in June. mobility A brief moment in time Complex rehab stakeholders held a "CRT Briefng and Product Expo" on Capitol Hill April 21 to gain additional support for bills H.R. 3229/S. 2196 and H.R. 1516/S. 1013. The event was hosted by NCART, the United Spinal Association and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, in coordination with the offces of Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Joe Crowley, D-N.Y. After a 20-minute briefng, attendees had an opportu- nity to walk around and interact with CRT products. By Tracy Orzel, associate editor WASHINGTON – CMS announced in May that two Group 3 power wheelchair codes— K0856 and K0861—will b e c o n s i d e re d f o r p r i o r authorization. In December, CMS issued a fnal rule that detailed its plans to establish a prior authorization process for certain DME in an effort to reduce unnecessary utiliza- tion and aberrant billing. "This is literally the frst piece of information that CMS has put out since the final rule about the next step," said Cara Bachen- CMS breaks prior auth silence heimer, senior vice president of government relations for Invacare. "The fnal rule didn't give any indication about the process or how quickly it would be rolled out." Until now, CMS has only referred to a "master list" of 135 products for which a prior authorization could b e r e q u i r e d , i n c l u d i n g CPAP devices and oxygen concentrators. Mobility providers aren't strangers to the process: A demonstration project r e q u i r i n g p r i o r auths for a large number of power mobility devices has been in place in seven states since 2012, with 12 states added in 2014. If CMS implements the new prior authorizations the same way it has for the PMD demo, stakeholders say it will be a win for payers, providers, and benefciaries. "We just want to make sure that whatever the pro- cess is—in terms of the paperwork required, and the time it takes the payer to review the information, a s k f o r a d d i - tional informa- tion or approve it—it happens within a reason- able timeframe," said Don Clay- b a c k , e x e c u - tive director of N C A RT. " T h e good news is, when it comes t o t h e P M D demonstration, Medicare has a system in place Complex rehab Hoveround absent from re-compete By Tracy Orzel, associate editor SARASOTA, Fla. – As industry stake- holders continue to pore over the list of Round 2 re-compete con- tract suppliers, one well-known name missing from the list is Hoveround. In previous rounds of the program, the provider accepted multiple contracts for standard wheelchairs, including contracts in 85% of the competitive bid- ding areas in the original Round 2; and contracts in all of the Round 1 re-compete areas. The low reimbursement rates in the Round 2 re-compete—on average, mobility providers will see a 13% reduction for manual wheelchairs; a 5% reduction for power wheelchairs; and 1.5% reduction for scooters—are tough numbers to make work, say providers. Still, provider David Beshoar says Hoveround's direct-to-con- sumer business model should give it a little more leeway. "They have more margins to work with than a retailer like me who doesn't have the beneft of selling at MSRP," said Beshoar, president of Palatine, Ill.-based MedServ Equipment. Of course, it's possible that the provider either didn't submit bids in the Round 2 re-compete, or didn't accept contracts. In early 2014, Hoveround cited burdensome competitive By Tracy Orzel, associate editor ARLINGTON, Va. – Programming a conference for three separate organizations sounds like a chal- lenge, but that's not the case for the upcoming RESNA/NCART 2016 Conference, organizers say. "Collaboration is a buzz- word—it's easier said than done," said Mike Brogioli, execu- tive director of RESNA. "But I've found (combining these confer- ences) hasn't been a challenge. Joint conference rallies around access It's been more of an opportunity." T h e e v e n t , h o s t e d b y NCART, NRRTS a n d R E S N A , and slated for July 10-14 at the Hyatt Regency C r y s t a l C i t y in Arlington, Va., will include interactive exhibits; more than 50 workshops; research plat- forms and poster sessions; Cap- itol Hill visits; pre-conference instructional courses; network- ing events; and student compe- titions. This year's theme: "Promoting Access to Assistive Technology." " B o t h c o n f e re n c e s a re focused on assistive technol- ogy—RESNA more broadly— but they have always included seating and mobility," said Don Clayback, executive director of NCART. "On a very high level, there's a common goal: Mak- ing sure people with disabili- ties have access to these type of products and equipment." Conference organizers say they've worked closely with each of the organizations to ensure that the sessions have broad- based appeal and balanced rep- resentation. However, Brogioli hopes attendees will use the conference as an opportunity to attend sessions outside of their specialty. Hoveround previously accepted contracts in 85% of Round 2 bid areas Mike Brogioli Bachenheimer Don Clayback "We just want to make sure that whatever the process is, it happens within a reasonable timeframe." -Don clayback H O V E R O U N d S E E N E x T PA g E P R I O R A U T H o R i z AT i o N S E E N E x T PA g E j O I N T C o N f E R E N C E S E E N E x T PA g E