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Headline News
Medtrade Spring Set to Open, Adds Sessions on Competitive Bidding
LAS VEGAS--Hoping to allay fears for the future and find answers to critical questions about competitive bidding and accreditation, some 5,000 home medical equipment providers are expected in Las Vegas this week for Medtrade Spring.

They likely couldn't find a better place to be.

More than 80 educational sessions and 500 exhibitors will be featured at the conference and exhibition, set for Tuesday through Thursday at the Las Vegas Convention Center--and they are focused on how to be successful in today's volatile HME climate.

The event comes at a time when the industry is turning topsy turvy, undone by the implementation of competitive bidding, with a 60-day bid window to open late this month for providers in 10 MSAs across the country. In addition, last week CMS issued an Aug. 31 acreditation deadline for those providers who hope to win a contract in any of 10 product categories. (For more on the accreditation deadline, see "Accreditors: Still Time for Providers to Meet CMS Deadline" below.)

With a broad spectrum of industry movers and shakers as speakers, Medtrade Spring promises to be a forum for the most up-to-date information on those two key issues, according to Liz Sommerville, Medtrade's recently appointed group show director.

"People are wanting to come and get the educational content," she said. "It's amazing how little people know and how panicked they are right now. We've actually added a new session on competitive bidding."

Called "Nuts-and-Bolts Steps to Survive Competitive Bidding," the session will be led by health care attorney Jeffrey Baird of Brown & Fortunato, Amarillo, Texas; Jane Bunch, vice president, HME consulting, for Atlanta-based CareCentric; and Mark Higley, vice president of development for Waterloo, Iowa-based buying group VGM. The trio will offer an overview of the final rule, information on how to prepare an application, the ins-and-outs of subcontracting and even ideas on what to do if a provider is not awarded a contract. The session will be held at 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

As well, Amy S. Leopard and Robert Crump, attorneys with the Cleveland, Ohio, law firm of Walter & Haverfield, will present "Competitive Bidding Networks: How to Prepare for Joint Bidding Proposals" at 9:45 a.m. on Thursday.

Medtrade Spring also has a full slate of presentations on accreditation. "Accreditation Central" will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday with seminars and exhibits presented by eight of the CMS-approved accrediting organizations. The seminars are designed to help providers figure out which organization is most appropriate for their business.

Steve Vinci, general manager of Sacramento, Calif.-based Timberlake Corp., said he is hoping to gain some "clarity" on competitive bidding and accreditation at the show, as well as "what's going on at the federal level."

While his company is not located in one of the initial competitive bidding areas, he still wants to know now how to deal with it when it comes. "At some point, we are all going to have to live with the competitive bid," he said. "I'm looking for ways to gain some economies so we are not stuck with lower revenues without lower costs. I'm looking for a better way to do things as long as it's not compromising patient quality."

Vinci and most other providers will likely take in what is traditionally one of the best-attended events at Medtrade, according to Sommerville. The American Association for Homecare will hold its annual Washington Update at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday to fill attendees in on key regulatory and legislative issues facing the industry.

In addition, providers will have access to dozens of other sessions on topics ranging from developing new market niches to the practicalities of the current oxygen reimbursement environment, COPD disease state management and wound care. On the exhibit floor, the New Product Pavilion will spotlight innovative products at the show, Sommerville said.

With all the industry changes, she added, Medtrade has also developed a series of mini-conferences under the Medtrade Conferences on the Road umbrella. Designed to address a wide range of current topics, Sommerville said initial sessions have been held in Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Detroit with more on the way.

Medtrade Spring will also route to various cities, Sommerville said. Next year, the show will be held in Long Beach, Calif., then will move back to Las Vegas in 2009. After that, she said, the show will move to a new city in 2010.

For more information about Medtrade Spring, check the Web site at www.medtradespring.com.

For providers attending Medtrade Spring, representatives from eight of the accrediting organizations will be exhibiting at Accreditation Central.

New Association Forms for Independent Providers
HALIFAX, Va.--In an announcement sent last week, state association executives and officers were invited to a prelaunch informational meeting about a new organization called the National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers.

NAIMES is being formed "as a grassroots advocacy, DME support and information resource organization for independent DME providers," according to the invitation.

"If you look at the numbers, there are 113,000 supplier numbers in the United States, and 108,000 of those do less than $1 million a year with Medicare ... There is no association focused on the smaller supplier side of this," said industry consultant Wayne Stanfield, who will serve as president and CEO of the new group.

Along with creating advocacy campaigns in every state, the association intends to support state DME associations in dealing with legislative and regulatory issues affecting providers, such as Medicaid, sales tax and licensure.

"We believe that politics are local," said Stanfield, who has interests in two HME companies and also serves as executive director of the Home Care Alliance of Virginia, a provider network. "We think that the home district is where minds are changed, not in Washington, so our goal for this organization is going to be grassroots advocacy and education entirely focused on supporting state associations in their lobbying activities."

Other officers of the new association include Neil Caesar of Greenville, S.C.-based Health Law Center, who will serve as vice president and general counsel, and H. Wayne Sale, president of Richmond, Va.-based Health First, who will be the group's board chairman. Other members of the nine-member board have not been announced.

The organization, which said it is aiming to sign up 10,000 members, plans a formal launch shortly after Medtrade Spring.

AAHomecare Comments on CPAP NCD
ARLINGTON, Va.--Last week, the American Association for Homecare submitted comments to CMS on the national coverage determination for CPAP therapy.

The current NCD dictates that OSA patients needing CPAP must be diagnosed through a sleep lab polysomnography study in order for Medicare to cover the cost of treatment. But in response to a request from the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery to consider including multi-channel home sleep testing devices as an option, CMS reopened the NCD for reconsideration. (See HomeCare Monday, March 26.)

In its comments, AAHomecare said that "early identification and treatment of sleep disorders is essential for the safe and effective care and management of Medicare beneficiaries. The clinical and economic benefits of logical, practical, and clinically sound sleep testing and treatment will become evident as the Medicare program continues to evolve. The long-term value of such a practical and clinically important benefit cannot be understated."

The association said it supports a revision to the current NCD that would:

--Permit the use of portable, multi-channel sleep testing in the home as a diagnostic alternative to facility-based polysomnography for the evaluation of patients with likely OSA.

--Revise the criteria for determining the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) to be equal to the average number of episodes of apnea and hypopnea per hour and be based on a minimum of two hours of sleep or less, if the actual number of AHI episodes recorded is 30 or more in less than two hours, recorded by polysomnography using actual recorded hours of sleep.

--Develop a policy for the use and coverage of positive airway pressure therapy for a select group of severe patients not yet evaluated through formal sleep testing.

Study: Patients Live Longer Under Hospice Care
ALEXANDRIA, Va.--Hospice care may prolong the lives of some terminally ill patients, a recent study has found.

The study, published last month in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, found that hospice patients survived an average of 29 days longer than non-hospice patients.

Researchers looked at terminally ill patients with either congestive heart failure or cancer of the breast, colon, lung, pancreas or prostate. Patients who chose hospice care lived longer in each of the disease categories except breast and prostate cancer. The biggest gain was for CHF patients, where the mean survival period jumped from 321 to 402 days.

Patients may do better in hospice because they are less likely to be over-treated, the study's authors said, noting that monitoring and treatment may also be improved under hospice care.

Additionally, hospice provides in-home care from an interdisciplinary team focused on the emotional needs, spiritual well-being and physical health of the patient. Support and training for family caregivers is provided as well. This may increase the patient's desire to continue living and may make them feel less of a burden to family members, researchers said.

"This study provides important information to suggest that hospice is related to the longer, not shorter length of survival--by days or months--in many patients," said Dr. Stephen Connor, lead author of the study. "This additional time may be valuable to patients and families to give more time for resolution and closure."

The study, "Comparing Hospice and Nonhospice Patient Survival Among Patients Who Die Within a Three-Year Window," was conducted by researchers at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in collaboration with consulting and actuarial firm Milliman Inc.

To download the study, click here.