Hot Off the Press

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  CMS Releases 2020 HCPCS Codes The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the new and changed Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes for 2020. The following O&P-related additions and changes will be effective for claims with a date of service o...
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  Upper-Limb Absence Affects Postural Control Even With Prosthesis People with upper-limb loss or absence experience a high prevalence of falls, and prosthesis use increases fall likelihood by six times, according to a study conducted to further document the effects of upper-limb absence and prosthesis use on pos...
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  OIG Recommends CMS Review Orthoses Allowable Amounts The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report that compared Medicare payments for orthoses to payments made by non-Medicare payers from 2012-2015. The OIG cited an increase in Medicare paymen...
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  FTC Orders Ottobock to Undo Freedom Innovations Acquisition The Federal Trade Commission has ordered Otto Bock Healthcare (Ottobock), Duderstadt, Germany, to roll back its acquisition of Freedom Innovations, Irvine, California, saying the merger of the two manufacturers would weaken competition in the mark...
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  Össur, Mann Foundation Extend Mind-Controlled Prosthetic Probe Össur, Reykjavik, Iceland, and the Alfred Mann Foundation (AMF) Santa Clarita, California, have reached an agreement that allows Össur to further develop and license AMF's implanted myoelectric sensor (IMES) system as both organizations continue t...
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  Noridian Quarterly TPE Results Released Noridian Healthcare Solutions, the Jurisdiction A Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contractor, released the April-June results of the Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE) reviews for AFO/KAFOs, KOs, spinal orthoses, and therapeutic sh...
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  Martin Bionics Recognized For Prosthetic Interface Technology Martin Bionics, Oklahoma City, has been selected by R&D Magazine as a recipient of its 2019 R&D 100 Award for the Socket-less Socket interface technology. The Socket-less Socket represents a shift from the standard of care in how...
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  OPAF Earns Swim Grant, Training OPAF and the First Swim Clinic have been selected for a U.S. Masters Swimming (USMS) swim grant for 2020. This marks the second year in a row First Swim has been honored by USMS for building its adult learn to swim program for individuals with lim...
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  CMS Releases 2020 DMEPOS Final Rule The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released its annual final rule regarding changes to the 2020 Medicare payment rules for Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) on October 31. It will be publish...
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  Horton’s O&P Hires Patient Care Advocate Lindsay Hicks has joined Horton's Orthotics and Prosthetics, headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, as a patient care advocate. Hicks has an associate's degree in business technology and graduated from the College of HealthCare Professions in San...
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  Innovation and Global O&P on Tap at ISPO World Congress The 17th World Congress of the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) was held in Kobe, Japan, October 5-8. The event drew more than 4,400 participants from around the world,...
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  Nominations Open for 2020 National Small Business Person Awards The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is accepting nominations for its 2020 National Small Business Week Awards, including the Small Business Person of the Year. For more than 50 years, National Small Business Week has celebrated the achiev...