Page 23 - HME Business, April 2019

HME Business Launches Podcast
With several episodes now available, the HMEB Podcast has offered information and insights on a variety of topics, and is aimed at helping HME providers thrive.
Custom Breast Prostheses Bills Introduced in House and Senate
Legislation re-introduced in the House and debuted in the Senate would require Medicare to fund custom breast prostheses, the only part of the body Medicare doesn’t cover.
Reps. Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.) and Judy Chu (D-Calif.), and Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have reintroduced legislation to ensure breast cancer patients who have experienced a mastectomy can access custom breast prosthetics under Medicare.
The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act would ensure coverage for custom post-mastectomy breast prostheses to the more than 144,000 women who undergo mastectomies annually. A public statement from Rep. Walorski emphasized that breasts were the only human body part not currently covered by Medicare.
The bills pick up where 2018’s Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act left off, since the previous legis- lation had lapsed with the 115th Congress.
The Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act is endorsed by the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, Susan B. Komen, Young Survival Coalition, Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, Brem Foundation, and Living Beyond Cancer.
“Breast cancer patients and survivors should have access to the latest in custom breast pros- theses to help improve their quality of life,” Walorski said. “... As we continue working toward a cure, this bipartisan bill will ensure Medicare beneficiaries battling breast cancer have the option to choose the prosthetics that work best for them.”
Chu noted that Medicare only covers two options for women who have undergone a mastec- tomy: basic, over-the-counter inserts and recon- struction, the most comprehensive procedure.
“This is important for women who want breasts that are the appropriate size and skin color but choose not to undergo reconstructive surgery,” she said. “Medicare should not be limiting reason- able options for necessary surgeries that allow women to live normal lives after cancer.”
“We can do so much more to help survivors of breast cancer return to health and achieve the best quality of life,” Duckworth noted.
“A breast cancer diagnosis changes your life forever,” Senator Murkowski added. “So for those who have championed what is, perhaps, the greatest battle of their life, it is only right that we expand coverage to help them physically and emotionally recover.”
Working to increase the ongoing value it has been providing its readers for longer than 25 years, HME Business magazine has launched a new podcast for the industry.
The HMEB Podcast continues the HME Business editorial mission of delivering timely, impactful information that helps HME professionals shape their business strategies, drive efficiencies, and capitalize on new revenue opportunities.
So far, the podcast has interviewed several industry experts on a variety of topics:
Pilot Episode — Ty Bello, president and founder of Team@Work coaching discussed the state of strategic sales planning in today’s industry, and described some of the things that need to change.
Episode 002 — Industry leaders Tom Ryan, the president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare, and Don Clayback, the Executive Director of the National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology, both outlined their organiza- tions’ legislative and regulatory agendas for HME and complex rehab, respectively.
Episode 003 — Jeffrey S. Baird, Esq., the chairman of the Health Care Group at law firm Brown & Fortunato P.C., discussed Medicaid managed care contracts — as well as a series of articles he’s written for HMEB on the topic (See “Observation Deck,” page 30 to read a portion of
that series). Also, Nikki Jensen, vice president of Essentially Women, chatted about her organization and the opportunities in women’s health.
Episode 004 — Wayne van Halem, president and founder of audit consulting firm The van Halem Group LLC, reviews key concerns related to six-year lookback audits, and Essentially Women’s Jensen returns to talk about the Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act and the Let Her Decide advocacy and public awareness campaign.
“This is a job that we’ve been doing for years in the magazine, on the HME-Business.com website,
in our e-Source enewsletter, and through our webi- nars,” said HME Business Publisher Karen Cavallo. “The HMEB Podcast is a logical extension of our mission to serve our readers and the HME industry.”
“Most of all, this is something our readers want us to do,” said HME Business Executive Editor David Kopf, who hosts the HMEB Podcast. “We surveyed our readers about their podcast listening habits, and while 56 percent of our readers currently listen to podcasts, a whopping 80 percent of them told us that if we released a podcast, they would listen to it — that includes readers who currently don’t listen to podcasts.”
The HMEB Podcast is available to all podcast listeners via the major podcast platforms, such as Apple’s iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. Make sure to subscribe and start listening today!
‘Let Her Decide’ Campaign Backs New Legislation
Public awareness campaign backing Breast Cancer Equity Acts kicks into high gear by offering tools to help stakeholders advocate and educate on behalf of the legislation.
To organize advocacy supporting the Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act, Essentially Women and the People for Quality Care partnered to launch the Let Her Decide (#LetHerDecide) campaign. “Women are unique and come in all shapes, sizes and skin tones,” said Nikki Jensen, vice president
of women’s health member service group Essentially Women. “Providing Medicare coverage for custom breast prostheses gives women the options they need and will let them decide what’s right for them.”
That campaign is marketing International Women’s Day with special advocacy messages that patients, caregivers, providers and other stakeholders can send to lawmakers.
“Since many insurance companies follow Medicare guidelines, this legislation has the potential to impact women of all ages throughout the country,” Jensen said. “Passage of the Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act provides them with the opportunity to choose the solution that meets their needs as they begin life after breast cancer.”
All the relevant information is available at the www.letherdecide.org web page. When visitors to the site click “take action” and enter their zip code, the page will bring up their members of Congress, and they will be given the option to send an email to their lawmakers.
“We ask that anyone affected by breast cancer, or if you just feel this is the right thing to do, please contact your elected officials and show support for bills S. 562 and H.R. 1370 today,” said Jensen.
To hear more from Jensen about the legislation and the campaign, listen to episode 004 of the
HMEB Podcast.
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