Archive - November 2016

Report: Trump selects Price as HHS Secretary, Verma to head CMS Numerous media outlets began reporting late last night that President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Rep. Tom Price, M.D. (R-Ga.) as the next Health and Human Services Secretary. Price has been a long-time champion in Congress for DME providers and the beneficiaries they serve with a focus on accessibility and quality. He has been the chairman on the House Budget Committee in the 114th Congress. Prior to his time in Congress, Dr.

A new year will soon be upon us and with that comes a new OIG Work Plan! Each year, the OIG publishes their Work Plan, which summarizes new and ongoing projects the OIG plans to pursue with respect to HHS programs and operations. Why is that important to you? Because once the OIG identifies their areas of focus, audit contractors such as the DME Medicare Administrative Contractors (DME MACs), Supplemental Medical Review Contractor (SMRC), Comprehensive Error Rate Testing contractor (CERT), Recovery

Hormonal therapy medicines treat hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers in two ways: by lowering the amount of the hormone estrogen in the body by blocking the action of estrogen on breast cancer cells  Most of the estrogen in women's bodies is made by the ovaries. Estrogen makes hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers grow. So reducing the amount of estrogen or blocking its action can reduce the risk of early-stage hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers coming back

On Tuesday, a U.S. District judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction indicating that the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime rule was outside of the department’s authority. The DOL overhauled the overtime rule, which would have required businesses to pay overtime for those that earned less than $47,476 per year. The rule was supposed to go into effect Dec. 1, which is now temporarily delayed until the Honorable Amos L. Mazzant III issues a final ruling. We will have more

How does a cancer cell burn calories? New research from Thomas Jefferson University shows that breast cancer cells rely on a different process for turning fuel into energy than normal cells. The results were recently published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. "Our finding is part of a growing interest in studying the metabolic function of cancer," says Ubaldo Martinez-Outschoorn, M.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University and researcher

Sixteen meetings in two days! John Gallagher and Tom Powers of VGM Government Relations, along with Thad Connally of First Choice Home Medical and Tom Ryan and Jay Witter of AAHomecare, attended many key meetings in an effort to push for a 12-month delay on the rural rollout. CRT issues were also a topic of discussion as the industry works on extending the delay of including CRT accessories into competitive bidding. Monday night, Tom Powers attended a meeting with the ranking member of the House

The following content is provided by our friend Heather Ferguson from the Lymphedema Advocacy Group. Heather provides some great resources to make contacting your representative as easy as a click of the mouse or the dialing of a phone. Let’s Take Action for Lymphedema Treatment Act - LTA for LTA today!         FROM HEATHER FERGUSON Help us get across the finish line this year by taking action today. Together we will pass the LTA! **Special Report

By John Gallagher, Vice President, Government Relations The election season is a long, drawn-out process that puts different ideas and visions for our country to the ultimate test. After more than a year of campaign ads, political speeches and debates, the votes have been tallied, and the nation embarks into a new Congress and White House. Regardless of a person’s political stance, a Donald Trump presidency along with the many congressional wins throughout the country was the best case

Written by Ana Sandoiu Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, regardless of ethnicity or race. Previous research has suggested that vitamin D may have a positive effect in anticancer therapy, and a new study correlates breast cancer survival rates with levels of vitamin D. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that in the United States, around 220,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. In 2013, 230,815 women were diagnosed with breast

by Jeffrey S. Baird, JD, and Todd Moody, JD AMARILLO, TX - Between unsuccessful challenges to aspects of the Competitive Bidding Program (“Program”), nonsensical bid awards, and constant downward pressure on already low reimbursement rates, it feels like all news related to Competitive Bidding is bad news. Last week, however, we encountered the rare competitive bidding development that is not negative. On November 4th, CMS published a Final Rule implementing requirements imposed