Archive: February 2011

ORLANDO, Fla. - Rotech Healthcare ended 2010 on a strong note. The provider on Feb. 28 reported net revenues of $496.4 million for 2010 compared to $479.9 million for 2009, an increase of $16.5 million. It reduced net losses from $21.1 million in 2009 to $4.2 million in 2010. Rotech also reported net revenues of $123.8 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2010, compared to $123.2 million for the same period last year. It reduced losses from $4.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2009 to...

RxStat ready to 'jump in' The time for wait-and-see at RxStat is over. "Now's the time to jump in," said president Sam Jarczynski. Last month, Jarczynski took an understandably cautious approach to marketing in the Orlando competitive bidding area (CBA), where RxStat is a contract supplier for sleep. He'd ramped up for the original Round 1, money he felt was "wasted" when it shut down. But now Jarczynski's entering the fray, starting with becoming a subcontractor to a non-contract supplier...

With prices for commodities, fuel, transportation and just about everything else on the rise, providers should not be surprised if product prices increase later this year, say industry watchers. "We are trying not to because of the drop in reimbursement due to competitive bidding, but it is an issue," said Harvey Diamond, Drive Medical's CEO. "There could be an increase coming from all of us." Carl Will, Invacare's senior vice president, agreed. "We've had significant increases in cost, and that...

ROCKY HILL, Conn., and ST. LOUIS - Within months of each other, two national complex rehab companies received injections of capital from private equity firms, allowing them to speed up their growth. In January, Rocky Hill, Conn.-based ATG Rehab brought on Boston-based Audax Private Equity as a majority partner. In November, St. Louis-based United Seating and Mobility (USM) brought on Philadelphia-based LLR Partners as an equal partner. "This will give us the cash to continue to grow, but do it...

HOUSTON - Rhonda Turner is taking to the airwaves with a call-in radio show. "We are hoping this is something that is not only going to be fun but will serve as an active tool for women," said Turner, executive director of the American Association for Breast Care Professionals (AABCP). "They will have an ongoing place to call in and talk to experts, or just call and ask questions." Set to launch sometime in February, "The Politics of Breast Care" is a 15-minute broadcast that will air over the...

CLEVELAND - When provider Joel Marx is expected to take over as AAHomecare's chairman of the board this month, don't expect him to rabble rouse about competitive bidding and other issues impacting the HME industry. Don't get him wrong: He knows these issues are important. But the association's capable staff and committee members have that covered. Marx feels his job is to get more providers involved in improving the industry's image. Here's what Marx, the president of Cleveland-based Medical Service...

SACRAMENTO - You'd think a new governor would have new ideas for how to decrease spending. Not when you're talking about Governor Jerry Brown and the state's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. Brown, like Arnold Schwarzenegger before him, has released a state budget that proposes shaving $1.7 billion from Medi-Cal's coffers for fiscal year 2011-12 by, among other things, capping spending on DME and supplies (Brown to about $1,600; Schwarzenegger to about $1,800) and eliminating spending completely on some...

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A group of HME providers in January successfully stalled the state's attempt to use a single-source provider for incontinence supplies for Medicaid recipients. The state had awarded a contract to Long Term Care Inc., based in Several, S.C., but it was forced to scrap it after the group of providers filed protests. "There was an agreement between all parties to stop the bid and stop the protests and kind of start over," said Ken Wells, one of the owners of Tucker-Wells Medical in...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida's next legislative session doesn't start until this month, but lawmakers were already making plans to overhaul the state's Medicaid program--a move that some industry stakeholders say could shut HME providers out of the program. In November, lawmakers passed a resolution to try and expand a 2006 reform plan that would move all Medicaid beneficiaries into managed care plans. Currently, beneficiaries in five counties are enrolled in managed care. The industry beat back...

DENVER - HME providers here are confident that a bill to exempt durable medical equipment from the state sales tax will be a no-brainer for state lawmakers. "We have the right folks in our camp (and the right message)," said Doug Coleman, president of the Colorado Association of Medical Equipment Services and owner of Loveland-based Major Medical Supply. "The people that need these services are generally elderly or at-risk folks that are not financially well-heeled." Introduced in January, H.B.11-1091...