Page 3 - DME Pharmacy, April 2021

Contents
4 Women’s Health DME pharmacies can meet women’s unique health needs, but they must also strive to provide knowledgeable, top-shelf care. How do they accomplish that?
10 Vaccination
Services
As COVID-19 vaccines get rolling, an accreditation organization has launched a new immunization certification, but the pandemic isn’t the only reason.
12 CBD Marketplace CBD is a popular option for OTC pain management with an expanding range
of offerings. What are some of the latest products available to DME pharmacies?.
EDITOR’S NOTE
Competitive Bidding’s Forever Pause
At the end of October, CMS announced that after originally taking bids for 16 product categories in the 130 competitive bid areas of Round 2021 of its competitive bidding program, it was only awarding contracts for the off- the-shelf back and knees braces categories. As for the 13 remaining categories, CMS announced it would not issue contracts because it “did not achieve expected savings.”
For DME pharmacies participating in DMEPOS, that means that given the last competitive bidding contracts
expired on Dec. 31, 2018, and that the bidding program has since been dormant, they can continue to provide these 13 categories without contracts. That seems like an attractive prospect, but it means supplying those items at reimbursement rates that are essentially frozen at 2018 rates.
Will the HHS and CMS under the Biden Administration steer back toward competitive bidding? It’s clear that CMS realizes it has reached a bid floor. It also knows that it’s more expensive for suppliers to deliver care and products during COVID-19. If competitive bidding makes a return, the pieces on the board will need to be reset if CMS wants the game to be sustainable.
David Kopf
Publisher & Executive Editor HME Business & DME Pharmacy
hme-business.com
April 2021
April 2021
Helping pharmacy owners and operators expand their DME businesses.
A SPECIAL PUBLICATION FROM
WOMEN’S
HEALTH
Pharmacies are in an ideal position to serve women’s unique health needs. Page 4?
ALSO INSIDE
• New immunization certification. Page 10 • CBD Marketplace. Page 12 ?
hme-business.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR & PUBLISHER
EDITORIAL STAFF ART STAFF
David Kopf
(949) 265-1561
Laurie Layman
Teresa Antonio
Marlin Mowatt
Rick Neigher
818-597-9029
Randy Easton
678-591-2822
ART DIRECTOR
PRODUCTION STAFF
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
ONLINE STAFF
DIR. OF ONLINE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
SALES STAFF
GROUP SALES MANAGER INTEGRATED MEDIA CONSULTANT
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Steve Ackerman
President Spectrum Medical
Jeffrey S. Baird, Esq.
Chairman of the Health Care Group of Brown & Fortunato, P.C.
Cara Bachenheimer
Lobbyist/Government Affairs for Brown & Fortunato, P.C.
Rob Baumhover
Director of Retail Services for VGM Retail Services
Ty Bello, RCC
President and Founder Team@Work
Rob Boeye
Executive Vice President of HME Brightree LLC
Sandra Canally
President
The Compliance Team Inc.
John Letizia
President of Laurel Medical Supplies Inc.
Joe Lewarski
Vice President of Global Respiratory and Sleep Drive Devilbiss
Faisal “RJ” Poonawala
President
Spring Branch Medical Supply
Ron Resnick
President
Blue Chip Medical Products Inc.
Tom Ryan
President and CEO AAHomecare
Gary Sheehan, MBA
President and CEO Cape Medical Supply
Wayne van Halem
President and Founder The van Halem Group LLC
INFRASTRUCTURE SOLUTIONS GROUP
PRESIDENT & GROUP PUBLISHER GROUP CIRCULATION DIRECTOR GROUP MARKETING DIRECTOR
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
REACHING THE STAFF
Kevin O’Grady Irene Fincher Susan May
Rajeev Kapur Sanjay Tanwani Erik A. Lindgren
Michael J. Valenti
Editors can be reached via e-mail, fax, telephone, or mail. A list of editors and contact information is at www.hme-business.com.
Email: To e-mail any member of the staff please use the follow- ing form: FirstinitialLastname@1105media.com.
Dallas Office: (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. CT) Telephone: 972-687-6700; Fax: 972-687-6799 14901 Quorum Drive, Suite 425, Dallas, TX 75254
Corporate Office: (weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. PT) Telephone: 818-814-5200; Fax: 818-734-1522
6300 Canoga Avenue, Suite 1150, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
April 2021 | DME PHARMACY 3