Homelink steps on the gas

WATERLOO, Iowa - The VGM Group has broken ground on a $20 million, 73,000-square-foot expansion to its headquarters here largely to accommodate growth in its Homelink division.

Homelink President Dave Kazynski credits a large contract with Minnesota-based HealthPartners and a fast-growing workers comp business for helping the company to double its size in three years.

“Many payers don't want to contract with 1,000 local companies,” he said. “They want to go through a system like ours that makes it easier for them to process claims and only have one, two or three companies to deal with.”

In addition to the corporate headquarters here, Homelink currently has about 70 employees working about half a mile down the road in a leased space. The expansion will allow Kazynski to get all of Homelink's 362 employees under one roof.

Homelink has also benefitted from additional business from existing customers, something Kazynski credits to the service provided by not only the company but also its provider members.

“We make sure we take care of our customers,” he said. “When you're doing a better job than the people you compete with, insurers want to call you.”

Homelink provides HME equipment and services through a network of thousands of provider members. About 70% of them agree to pricing in advance, giving them preferred status. Homelink then uses a mapping system to distribute business to local providers.

“There are other opportunities, too,” Kazynski said. “If a provider is out of network for a particular payer, they can still go through our contract, providing they agree on the pricing. We do that a couple hundred times a day.”

Going forward, Kazynski has about a dozen inside and outside sales reps calling on payers to keep the wheels greased.

“As Van (Miller, CEO and founder of The VGM Group) told me, 'Don't take your foot off the gas,'” he said.