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By Wayne van Halem, President, The van Halem Group There are a number of signs that are pointing to an increase in audit activity across multiple payers as the public health emergency (PHE) winds down. These increases can be expected not just on Medicare claims, but also in the Medicaid and managed care spaces as well. Audit volumes have been on the increase for many product categories since early 2021, excluding those categories affected by the PHE waivers and flexibilities, which are still

Ask your Arkansas legislators to support HB 1364 (Clowney) and pass this legislation exempting breast pumps, breast pump collection and storage supplies, breast pump kits, and breast pads from state sales tax. In Arkansas, mothers who pump breast milk are required to pay sales tax when they buy their equipment. Breast pumps are basic necessities for breastfeeding mothers, and taxing pumps limits access to breastfeeding by making the product more expensive. And while insurance coverage

By Jim Nygren, President, VGM Insurance Services With workers’ compensation premiums being one of your largest insurance related expenses, it’s critical to understand how these premiums are calculated and what you can do to better manage this expense. In this article, we will discuss the Workers’ Compensation Experience Modification and how this factor impacts your premiums. What Is the Workers’ Compensation Experience Modification? The Workers’ Compensation

By Brynn Prier, Data Analyst II, VGM & Associates, and Ryan Weber, Data Analyst, VGM & Associates Forecasting. It’s one of the biggest buzzwords in the data world today, and it’s only going to grow throughout the next year and beyond. Using data to better predict outcomes in the future is going to remain a hot topic in 2023 as it continues to increase in demand by companies everywhere. There are many aspects of a business that can use forecasting to help leaders make more informed

By Barry Thwaits, VP, Business Development, VGM & Associates Like other business owners, you are likely busy making plans for the coming year, focusing on growing your business, and bringing in new customers. As you prepare for 2023, your plans will  have to include consideration of ongoing challenges that have plagued our industry for the last two years. Providers will have to find a way to sustain, or even grow and expand their business while working through supply chain issues, increasing

Focus Conference 2023 took place from Feb. 4-6, 2023, and Essentially Women was so delighted at the high levels of energy, excitement, and engagement among all the attendees, exhibitors, and speakers. The apparent sense of “normalcy” was certainly felt, something that hasn’t happened since before the pandemic. From the spot-on education sessions to an immersive exhibit hall and amazing networking and social events, EW truly feels that attendees learned best practices for growing

By Mike Mallaro, CEO, VGM Group, Inc. We have been through three tumultuous years, ignited by a pandemic and exacerbated by supply chain disruptions, recalls, an upside-down labor market, and inflation. And while predicting the future is a fool’s errand—given that most predictions are wrong—allow me to offer my outlook on the next 24 months in the DMEPOS space. Despite the maladies mentioned in my opening, we are coming off the greatest period of home oxygen in history.

Patsy Taylor was named the EW Ruth Addison Award of Excellence 2023 winner on Feb. 5, 2023, during a special ceremony at Focus Conference. Taylor, a former respiratory therapist, was thrust into the women’s health industry after two of her four sisters were diagnosed with breast cancer. They had a difficult time finding a place for a breast prosthesis fitting. After experiencing a fitting that was more like a medical procedure with one bra option and one prosthetic option, she opened her

President Biden has announced that the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) will officially end on May 11, 2023. This PHE was initially announced in early 2020 and has been renewed in multiple 90-day increments since then, most recently on Jan. 11.   What Ending the PHE Means for    DMEPOS Suppliers There are several provisions that impact the DMEPOS industry tied to the duration of the PHE. With the official ending of the PHE now in sight, most of

VGM & Associates has released the first playbook of the year, “VGM Playbook: Forecasting 2023.”  This publication contains insight from industry experts on the overall forecasting of 2023, including trends, opportunities, and challenges; the state of DMEPOS; marketplace disruption, cash injections, additional revenue streams, and outsourcing; and updates on reimbursement, legislation, compliance, technology, data, security, workforce trends, and more.  “As