Retail gives HME new hope
By HME News Staff
Updated Thu May 31, 2007
The Chattanooga, Tenn.-based New Hope Medical Equipment took over a neighboring Radio Shack in March, making room for new products that emphasize retail sales.
"Medicare seems to be getting worse, and we don't see a turn for the better," said Gerry Warner, marketing manager for the 2-year old company, which has seven employees. "That's what drove our decision to move toward retail."
New Hope Medical's showroom now comprises 3,600 square feet (compared to 600 square feet). It features a bevy of new products: diabetic shoes, orthotics, incontinence and wound care supplies, aids to daily living (ADLs) and more.
At a ribbon cutting April 20, New Hope Medical feted its expanded location with help from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce and a state representative whose mother is one of its clients.
Already this year, New Hope Medical has decreased its dependency on Medicare from 65% to 40% of its payer mix, Warner said.
"It'd be great to do no Medicare business at all, but we know we'll always have to do some billing," he said.
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