Call for Speakers – Topics

How to operationalize assignment/non-assignment on Medicare FFS claims: The DME industry accepts assignment on an overwhelming majority of claims, which makes it challenging for industry stakeholders to fight for increased rates. This session will discuss why and when suppliers should consider submitting non-assigned claims and what steps they should implement to do so successfully. Discuss the difference between (i) participating and non-participating suppliers and (ii) billing assigned and billing non-assigned. Discuss the benefits of billing non-assigned. Discuss the fact that when a supplier bills non-assigned, it nevertheless must submit the claim to Medicare on behalf of the patient. Discuss proper use of ABNs when billing non-assigned. Discuss the Medicare discrimination statute that says that in setting prices, the DME supplier cannot discriminate against Medicare patients.         

Oxygen – Medicare coverage criteria changes, what do they mean?: CMS made significant changes to the Oxygen NCD and we expect to see those revisions carried through to the LCDs at some point. This includes expanding coverage and removing the CMS requirement. This session will highlight those key changes and what suppliers need to know moving forward with their oxygen patients.

The most audited product categories, strategies and opportunities: This session will highlight the most common products and services that are being audited by oversight agencies. It will include common issues and pitfalls that suppliers are facing. Strategies to respond to these audits, mitigate the risk associated with them, and potential opportunities to avoid long term issues will also be discussed.

How can I enhance my operational processes with E-prescribing?: The DME industry has not yet fully embraced ePrescribing; however, it is definitely the path we are headed. This presentation will discuss how ePrescribing can make you operations more efficient while still remaining compliant.

Key metrics in operational processes and accounts receivable management: A/R management can be a challenge for many DME suppliers. However, those that have worked to develop KPIs and metrics in collections have managed to be more successful in getting paid what they are owed. This presentation will highlight some of those metrics that have helped other suppliers lower their A/R.

Remote patient monitoring – how can/does this impact my business?: Remote patient monitoring has been a hot topic for discussion, spurred on even more recently by the public health emergency. This presentation will describe on the benefits and challenges associated with remote patient monitoring and the impact, good and bad, that it can have on your business. Discuss the federal laws governing RPM. Discuss the role that the DME supplier can play in assisting physicians provide RPM (e.g., providing monitoring equipment and assist with monitoring). Discuss the importance of physicians paying fair market value compensation for the DME supplier’s services.

PAP recall: Philips Respironics massive product recall during a public health emergency ignited a tidal wave of supply chain and access issues.  While Philips works tirelessly to resolve the issues, the fact remains that a number of patients and suppliers are still impacted. This presentation will provide most recent updates on this impactful event. Discuss the latest developments pertaining to the Philips recall. Discuss the strategies that DME suppliers have taken to successfully respond to the recall.

Billing and Reimbursement Benchmarking – am I better or worse than my peers?: Rejection/denial rates and collections are one of a supplier’s key indicators of success. However, it is hard to understand how you stack up to others in the business. Understanding what other leaders in the business are tracking and how successful they are gives you a good idea of where you stand and where there is room for improvement. This presentation will discuss what and how suppliers are benchmarking when it comes to claim submissions and collection rates and help identify best practices.

Internet advertising and search engines: DME suppliers have increased use of online advertising, including optimizing use of internet search engines. A successful program can yield positive results. This presentation will highlight best practices when implementing an online advertising strategy as well as provide details of common mistakes suppliers should avoid. Discuss “Minimum Advertised Price” imposed by manufacturers and how DME suppliers should respond to the MAP. Discuss the federal laws that state that (i) in setting prices, the DME supplier cannot discriminate against Medicare beneficiaries and (ii) a DME supplier cannot bill Medicare substantially in excess of the suppliers usual and customary charges unless good cause is shown.

Recruiting and Hiring in a Post-Pandemic Workplace: Not only did the public health emergency create significant supply chain issues for suppliers, many are also now faced with human capital shortages as well. Recruiting and hiring employees has become a significant challenge for suppliers and its not clear how long this trend will continue.  This presentation will discuss some potential hiring strategies and techniques that can assist suppliers fill their vacancies with the best qualified employees during a very unique and challenging time. Discuss the importance of a clear employee COVID policy and the importance of uniform enforcement of the policy. Discuss the benefits of offering flexibility in the work place (i.e., flex hours, working from home on a full or part time basis, etc.).

Remote Employee Management : Prior to the pandemic, remote positions in the DME industry were fairly unusual. However, that is no longer the case as the industry jumped into action during the pandemic to manage their patients and operations remotely. While some appeared to do so effortlessly, other struggled. It also adds another layer of complexity in managing that remote workforce. This presentation will discuss some of the unique nuances of managing remote employees and provide tips and best practices on keeping those employees engaged and performing to the best of their ability.

Multigenerational Management: Boomers, Gen X, and now millennials all account for significant percentages of the workforce; however, the manner in which they work, prefer to be managed, and respond to work-related issues and goals can be very different. This presentation will highlight some of those unique behaviors of each generation of worker and how to effectively manage a multi-generational team.  

Patient Collections: Discuss federal law that (i) imposes on the DME supplier the obligation to exert a reasonable effort to collect copayments and (ii) states that a copayment can be waived only if the patient shows a financial inability to pay. Discuss the fact that there are many state laws that say the same thing. Discuss the fact that most commercial insurers impose the same requirements. Discuss what a proper copayment collection/waiver policy should look like.

Staff Development – Training and Continuing Education: Staff training and development is a challenge for all businesses. Employees seek continuous opportunities for development, including leadership skills. This presentation will provide some best practices that entities have implemented to improve their own internal training and education program which has resulted in a more skilled and productive workforce.

submit only if you are CMS or Medicare Contractor

DME MAC Updates – Key Data Point: This session will provide an update from the 4 DME MACs with key metrics: TPE audits, # of audits in progress, success at each level, % referred to CMS, top product category educational updates, and more.

NSC Update – Provider Enrollment, Revalidation, Site Visit: This session will provide an update on the current workloads at the NSC.   Revalidations have restarted and we will share where we are with the backload.   Site visits have resumed and there are new contractors.  Come learn what’s new with the NSC,

CBIC – CB Update – What is the Latest News?: The CBIC will provide an update on all things competitive bidding as permitted by CMS.  We will discuss the current state of CB for the 2 product categories included in this current round.

Strategic Planning: Strategic planning is essential in maintaining and growing a successful business. Employees must understand the company vision, the 1 year plan, 3 year picture, and 10 year target. Through leadership training and the use of operating systems, companies can become laser-focused and experience true traction. This session will help business owners clarify vision, set attainable goals, and develop effective growth plans.

Acquisitions and Mergers: The HME industry is buzzing with acquisition and merger activity. Hear from industry experts on recent activity, buying/selling trends and frameworks for success. This session will outline company valuations in the industry, EBITDA multiples, and the importance of good value business. This session will provide relevant updates and practical decision-making methodologies. 

Alternative Revenue Models and New Products/Services: The demand for in-home medical products and services continues to grow. These needs have only been amplified by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Baby Boomer aging, in-home care models, and retail sales, all present opportunities for HME providers.  This session will introduce new innovative products and services that drive revenue and residual value.   

Business Continuity Planning – Succession Plan: Business continuity planning ensures personnel and assets are protected during a disaster or public health emergency. Proactive planning ensures resources are appropriately prepared and aligned for ongoing operational success. Additionally, the organization’s governance documents should be routinely updated and a written succession plan documented. This session will guide providers in creating a comprehensive disaster plan that is tested and documented for optimal continuity. 

Interoperability – Connecting Solutions and Partners: System integrations provide seamless data exchange that yields operational efficiency and promotes optimal patient outcomes. Unfortunately, the post-acute care market is fragmented and disjointed. As a result, providers are left with two inefficient options: collect data manually or develop and maintain expensive, independent, point-to-point connections. This session will explore interoperability at a deeper level, define solutions for improved connectivity, and outline the value of interoperable solutions. 

Purchasing, Product Formulary Management: Product distribution partners are invaluable in the timely and efficient delivery of quality products and services. Providers will learn how to leverage the purchasing power of distributors and build product formularies that are equitable.

Leadership, Management, Coaching: As leaders we must be able to distinguish when to lead, manage and coach. Understanding the practical applications of these skill sets will have direct impact on our business and team

Proper Utilization of Telehealth: Discuss federal laws pertaining to telehealth during the public health emergency (“PHE”) and the likelihood that the laws will change after the PHE. Discuss how DME suppliers can rely on telehealth to their advantage.

Changes to STARK and Kick-back Statute: Discuss the November 2020 modifications to the federal anti-kickback statute and Stark. Discuss how these modifications assist DME suppliers (i) in working with physicians and facilities and (ii) working with patients.

Properly working with a manufacturer: Discuss the federal laws (e.g., federal anti-kickback statute and Discount Safe Harbor) that guide relationships between DME suppliers and manufacturers. Discuss relationships that are legally acceptable and those that should be avoided.

Legal Guidelines for growing a retail business: Discuss the Medicare discrimination statute (i.e., the DME supplier cannot adopt a pricing policy that discriminates against Medicare beneficiaries) and the federal statute that says that a supplier cannot bill Medicare substantially in excess of its usual and customary charges unless good cause is shown. Does HIPAA guidelines pertaining to cross marketing between a covered entity and a non-covered entity. Discuss the benefits of operating a retail (cash) business out of a separate legal entity.

Collaborative arrangements with physicians and other referral sources: Discuss the federal anti-fraud laws governing arrangements between DME suppliers and referral sources and give examples of comparable state laws. Provide examples of collaborative arrangements that are legally acceptable and those that need to be avoided.

Offering value-added services while avoiding inducements: Discuss the November 2020 modifications to the federal anti-kickback statute, Stark, and the beneficiary inducement statute. Discuss how these modifications help DME suppliers provide “value-added” services to patients.

Right of a DME supplier when a managed care plan acts badly: Discuss the federal laws that govern Medicare Advantage Plans and Medicaid Managed Care Plans. Discuss what the federal laws say when a DME supplier concludes that the managed care organization has breached its contract with the supplier and/or has engaged in activities that are unfair to the supplier.

Steps to buy and sell a DME supplier: Discuss the difference between an asset sale and a stock sale. Discuss the mechanics of buying and selling a DME supplier (e.g., Mutual Nondisclosure Agreement, Letter of Intent, Due Diligence, and Closing Documents).

Implementing a legally proper marketing program: Discuss the federal laws that pertain to implementation of a marketing program by a DME supplier (e.g., anti-kickback statute, Stark, beneficiary inducement statute). Discuss marketing programs that are legally acceptable and marketing programs that need to be avoided.

Mandate employee vaccinations?: Discuss federal laws, including court decisions, that address mandatory COVID vaccinations. Discuss the discretion that employers have in implementing vaccination policies.

Most common HR mistakes and how to avoid them: Discuss the importance of having a clear and concise Employee Handbook that educates employees regarding their rights and obligations. Discuss the proper disciplinary steps that the employer can take when an employee fails to adhere to the Employer’s policy.

Moving from billing assigned to non-assigned: Discuss the difference between being a “participating supplier” and a “non-participating supplier.” Discuss the difference between “billing assigned” and “billing non-assigned.” Discuss the fact that even if the supplier bills non-assigned, it must still submit claims to Medicare on behalf of the supplier’s patients. Discuss the proper use of utilizing an ABN when billing non-assigned.

Forming a joint-venture with a hospital or another facility: Discuss the OIG guidance (e.g., Small Investment Interest Safe Harbor, 1989 Special Fraud Alert, April 2003 Special Advisory Bulletin) on joint ventures between providers/suppliers and referral sources such as hospitals. Discuss how to legally structure a joint venture between a DME supplier and a hospital. Discuss legal pitfalls to avoid.

State Medicaid programs: Discuss the landscape surrounding Medicaid programs and the changes that have occurred due to the PHE.  What opportunities have risen in waivers that could become permanent to better serve the Medicaid population.

Best strategies for working with managed care payers: Discuss strategies on how to become a partner to the payer to optimize your business, eliminate administrative cost, and minimize costly claims and authorization denials.

Value-based Care and Various Models (more than capitation): Discover how to move your business into the world of value based care.  What are the steps necessary to begin this transformation and how can they benefit DME companies.

Med-Advantage – Rules and Regs : Discuss the federal statutes and regulations that govern Medicare Advantage Plans. Discuss the fact that the federal laws are focused on protecting patients and include little guidance on protecting providers/suppliers.

Medicaid Managed Care Rules and Regs: Discuss the federal statutes and regulations that govern Medicaid Managed Care Plans. Discuss the fact that federal laws are focused on protecting the patients and are not focused on protecting suppliers/providers.

Local Payers – What is valued in the HME industry: Discuss the trends occurring with payers as they make the shift to care in the home.  Discuss the partnership that the DME providers and manufacturers can provide to the payer community.

Contracting Tips – Going beyond the web form: Discuss strategies on establishing contract meetings to get in network, negotiation tips, and ongoing payer relations strategies after the contract is signed.  Learn how to sell the value of HME and care in the home.

Vertical Integrations: Learn what is happening with vertical integration with the payer community.  Evaluate current payer acquisition trends and how these impact the DME industry.

Responding to a closed panel: Discuss the fact that there is not a “silver bullet” for forcing a managed care plan to allow a DME supplier onto the panel. Discuss the steps that the DME supplier can take to increase the possibility of being allowed onto a closed panel. Discuss the importance of modifying existing state “any willing provider” laws to extend to DME suppliers

Education/Awareness on Partner Opportunities: Education on the various ranking models that hospital, physician, and SNF partners have and how a DME provider can help impact these scores and help to create partnerships to increase their business.

We would like to give exhibitors the opportunity to showcase products and educate attendees. Each exhibitor will be given up to 20 minutes to present/promote/demo their product(s).

• Complex Rehab
• Respiratory
• Wound Therapy
• Ostomy
• Urological
• Incontinence
• Diabetic
• Nutrition
• Breast Pumps
• Bent Metal
• Pain Management

Branding – Unique Differentiators: What has worked outside of HME space? Successful use cases – examples & application.

Clinical Outcomes Selling: Providers need to understand the specific patient outcomes that drive referrals, while leveraging payer relations

Situational Selling: Educating the providers on how Situational Selling applies to the post acute sales environment

The New Normal Sales Process – Post Pandemic: Using the most current field access and obstacles, how can providers overcome the market place changes

Sales Accountability and KPI’s: What are the Best in Class KPI’s that Providers should measure and how do they use these to drive accountability and sales

Sales Leadership, Managing, and Coaching: Help Owners and Sales Leader distinguish the difference between Leadership, Managing and Coaching

Developing a Sales Driven Incentive Plan: Help the provider understand the elements of the sales driven incentive plan that produces results

Strategic Sales Planning Process: Providers need to know how to develop and when to implement a Strategic Sales Process

Brand Identity in a Consumer Referral Driven Market: How does a provider engage the consumer for Brand awareness

Effective Social Media Market Management: What are the Best in Class Social Media Marketing  Components that providers need to embrace and measure.

Marketing Metrics – Social Media and Branding: Providers struggle with the cost for social media and branding. Help them clearly understand what to measure and their ROI

Consumer Survey Tools to Market Your Business: Share why a consumer survey is important to both the business and also the referral community and how to use the results

Adaptation of a New Social Media Approach to the Changing Consumer: What are areas within Social Media that providers need to do better in this changing environment

SEO SEM – Website, Social Media: Providers need to understand how SEO works and why it is important for their business

Leveraging Patient Satisfaction to Market: More than accreditation requirement

The HME industry is surrounded by third-party service vendors focused on process improvement, staff augmentation, enabling scalability, reducing costs, increasing sales, navigating complex regulatory issues, and more. This session track is comprised of leading services providers, highlighting the benefits of their solutions, and driving increased value for each attendee. Please submit the service(s) you provide and the relative value proposition of each.

• Billing and Reimbursement
• Insurance and Patient Collections
• Consulting
• Operations
• Leadership
• Accreditation
• Sales and Marketing
• Audits and Compliance
• Regulatory
• Financial
• Contracting
• Logistics
• Coding
• HIPAA
• Cybersecurity
• Technology
• BPO Services and Offshore Contractors
• Online Learning Management
• Asset Management
• Fulfillment – Distribution
• Call Center – Customer Service
• Patient Monitoring – Compliance
• Resupply
• Recertification
• Accreditation

State advocacy and the Medicaid program, what can I do as a supplier?: Discuss federal laws that address Medicaid Managed Care Plans, including access to care requirements and minimum level of service requirements.

State vaccination requirements/updates: Discuss federal laws and court decisions pertaining to vaccination requirements. Discuss the rights of employers to determine vaccination requirements for their employees.

Selling Techniques To Drive Add On Cash Sales: There’s a science behind listening and qualifying a customer to get them to trust you and be comfortable. The best sales associates are great listeners and better yet educators. Come learn some of the tools they use to close a sale, or get the customer to upsale or add onto. 

Merchandising: Tips & Tricks For The New Retail: All retailers need to evolve with the times, our customers are expecting great experiences where they can come and see what products and services you offer. Come learn some merchandising strategies that will take your store into the new era of retail.

KPI’s & How To Track: All successful businesses track how their business is doing, are you? Come hear from your peers what KPI’s they are tracking, how often they are tracking, and with what tools.

Inventory Management: Having too little or too much inventory on hand can really impact a business’s sales. Too little impacts sales, while too much holds up dollars to buy product trends or new items.

Products: We are always looking for new products to bring in and offer our customers, this will allow you in one session to hear from multiple manufacturers what new products they are bringing to the market.

Train the Trainer: Employees are as good as there training, so are we as trainers equipped with the right set of techniques to get the most out of them. What are the best means of evaluating their performance and means to communicate good and bad performance to become better.

Employee Engagement: It’s tough to find good loyal staff today, so what can we do as leaders to get our employees engaged to our beliefs and best practices. How do we get them to drink our companies kool-aid?

Cybersecurity Protection and Planning: Ransomware attacks are estimated to cost $6 trillion annually. More than 50% of businesses do not believe their organization is prepared to defend an attack. This session will speak to the importance of preparation, planning, and continuous monitoring of nefarious cyber threats. What happens if my business is affected? What resources are available?

Remote Patient Monitoring: HME providers are ideally positioned to coordinate post-acute care needs of patients. In combination with existing HME therapy, such as sleep and respiratory, Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) devices can be used to better understand patient compliance, therapy adherence, and outcome progression. Learn how to leverage RPM solutions to drive value and improve the patient experience.

Billing, Reimbursement, Operational Technology: Billing and reimbursement applications and services have been a part of HME operations for years. Today, technology vendors and service providers, are flooding the Home Medical Equipment space with tools and services to automate process, improve efficiency, and enable scalability. This session will highlight new technology solutions, focused on provider success.    

ePrescribing: e-prescribing, widely adopted by physicians, provides a secure and efficient method for receiving orders over the traditional paper-chase process used by most HME suppliers. Leveraging HIPAA compliant connectivity platforms, e-prescribing solutions vendors have introduced new technology to improve the HME order experience and drive complete, compliant medical orders, supported by qualifying medical documentation. Additionally, these vendors work with suppliers to gain e-prescribing adoption in the industry and demonstrate the cost-savings for healthcare providers and suppliers alike. This session will focus on available HME e-prescribing solutions and define pathways for supplier implementation.

Inventory Management: Solutions providers, manufacturers, and distributors alike, offer technology platforms for product inventory management. Whether managing warehouse stock, consignment closets, and/or large fleets, tools are available to automate processes, drive efficiency, and control costs. This session will spotlight inventory management applications and outline the benefits of implementing tracking software. 

Home Modification Applications: With an ever-growing retail market focused on aging at home, the home modification industry has expanded rapidly to offer products and supplies to help patients safely thrive in the home setting. HME suppliers are positioned perfectly to service this market segment. This session will explore opportunities in Home Modification and review technology applications and services to support successful business models.