* You are viewing the archive for June, 2011

From CRE’s DME Hotline: 1-800-613-7678 (Livonia, MI)

“I have a good supplier of oxygen right here in Michigan and they do a very good job, an outstanding job of supplying me with oxygen.  I have no worries about running out.

I had a bad tank one night and they were here in a half-hour and replaced the tank even … Continue Reading

Think Tank Doesn’t Think Much of NCB

From: Home Care Magazine

SAN FRANCISCO — Adding its thumbs down to a growing list of studies and commentaries that slam national competitive bidding, the Pacific Research Institute weighed in last week with another damning review of the process, saying it “yields prices for equipment that are substantially lower than those that would emerge in a competitive market.”

In a study titled “Medicare Auctions for Durable Medical Equipment,” Benjamin Zycher, PhD, a senior policy fellow at PRI, wrote that under the “flawed auction system, prices for medical devices and equipment are likely … Continue Reading

Independent pharmacies seek carve out — ‘We think it has multiple wins for everybody’

From: HME News

By Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor

WASHINGTON – Independent pharmacies are making another play at keeping themselves out of the competitive bidding program.

On May 23, Reps. Aaron Shock, R-Ill. and Peter Welch, D-Vt., introduced the Medicare Access to Diabetes Supplies Act, which seeks to exempt independent pharmacies with 10 or fewer locations from having to competitively bid for diabetes testing supplies.

“We think it has multiple wins for everybody,” said John Coster, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). “It will save money for Part B, it will save beneficiaries on the co-pay, and it … Continue Reading