Health New England Partners with Northwood for Durable Medical Equipment
Posted on October 24, 2018
Health New England is partnering with Northwood, Inc., to serve as our Durable Medical Equipment Benefit Manager (DBM). Effective October 1, 2018, Northwood administers and manages all aspects of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and medical supplies (DMEPOS) for our Medicare Advantage members.
About Northwood
Northwood is an independent company that specializes in the management of DMEPOS services on behalf of insurance companies around the United States. Northwood has been managing these services for over 20 years and will ensure that the needs of Health New England’s members continue to be well served.
Health New England is partnering with Northwood for these functions in order to improve the efficiency in the delivery of DMEPOS and to help manage costs for our members.
Prior Approval Changes
Your Health New England Medicare Advantage plan benefits stay the same, as described in the Covered Services list in your member materials. Now, Prior Approval is required on all DMEPOS services including, but not limited to, the following:
- Durable medical equipment (DME)
- Medical supplies
- Orthotics
- Oxygen and related supplies
- Prosthetics (including wigs worn for hair loss due to treatment of cancer or leukemia)
All existing Health New England authorizations will be honored by Northwood to allow for a smooth transition for our members.
You do not need to do anything. It is still the health care provider’s responsibility to prescribe, obtain authorization, and make any other necessary arrangements with Northwood or Health New England for medically necessary equipment and supplies.
(Beginning 1/1/2019 – Medicare Select HMO-POS plan members, who are using an out-of-network provider for DMEPOS, should inform the provider to contact Northwood for an authorization.)*
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