Viewpoints
Taking stock: Challenges, yes – but also progress
June 22, 2026Liz Beaulieu, Editor
When Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty and I sat down to brainstorm ideas for the cartoon for the June issue, we made a conscious decision to steer clear of the usual suspects: Medicare, CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, and the industry’s ongoing regulatory pressure points – competitive bidding, supplier moratoriums, fraud.
Those topics have fueled more than a few recent cartoons, and for good reason. But this month, we wanted to take a step back.
Instead, we landed on another...
Providers didn’t ask for it, but it’s here
June 22, 2026Liz Beaulieu, Editor
Going into Medtrade in March, I assumed the biggest topics of conversation would be CMS’s next round of competitive bidding and its new moratorium on new supplier numbers.
Those issues were certainly discussed, but by far the most dominant – and most charged – topic on the show floor was the accelerating use of benefits managers and third‑party administrators to manage durable medical equipment products and services.
Just prior to Medtrade, we published a story on BlueCross...
Medtrade brings the buzz - now the industry must bring the action
March 31, 2026Liz Beaulieu, Editor
The heat outside Medtrade in Phoenix this year – intense, even by local standards – had a certain symmetry with what was happening inside the Convention Center. The industry’s challenges are very real, very present, and yes, very “hot,” but they seemed to thaw under a positive buzz on the show floor.
And let’s be clear: There’s plenty to worry about in DME right now.
• The freeze on new Medicare enrollments.
• Benefits...
We eat, breathe, sleep CBP
January 27, 2026Liz Beaulieu, Editor
The HME industry kicked off the new year much like it ended the last – focused on Medicare’s competitive bidding program (CBP). The next round of CBP is officially underway, and its impact will be significant.
Although CMS didn’t finalize its plans until a Nov. 28 rule, competitive bidding skyrocketed to the top of our 10 most-read articles of 2025:
No. 2 CMS moves forward with national competitive bidding
No. 6 Next round of bidding takes shape: CMS proposes new rules,...
Penny-wise, pound-foolish mentality threatens home-based care
October 27, 2025Liz Beaulieu, Editor
CMS’s latest proposal to expand the competitive bidding program (CBP) to include ostomy, tracheostomy and urological supplies has sparked concern across the HME industry. But the issue goes far beyond these categories. As VGM’s Ike Isaacson put it:
“To save pennies and turn around and spend multitudes of dollars is bad policy and irresponsible.”
That sentiment applies to the entire CBP framework. The cartoon for our November issue captures the irony: a toddler...
Consolidation creeps on, but mom-and-pops keep on rollating
October 17, 2025Theresa Flaherty
We talk a lot in this industry about consolidation. This month was no different, with the specter (such a seasonal word, as I write this mid-October) of competitive bidding looming over providers large and small.
Take our story on a recent HME Newspoll (page 3) that showed 90% of respondents believe the bidding program will further consolidate an already-shrinking industry.
That’s certainly looking like a safe bet. Large national providers are reporting an increase in...
On competitive bidding, criticism and what we do at HME News
October 9, 2025Liz Beaulieu, Editor
A recent LinkedIn post caught my eye:
“Reporting the publicly traded company’s financial results doesn’t help us. Our industry magazines are not a friend to us as they promote the wrong companies for ad revenue.”
Ouch.
Let’s rewind. That comment came in response to the news that CMS plans to move forward with another round of national competitive bidding. Not shocking, but still unsettling. The last round only included a few product categories – CMS said...
Barbie gets a CGM, but will Medicare beneficiaries keep theirs?
August 11, 2025Theresa Flaherty
I’m out of shape. That is, I was feeling out of shape, and out of my element, when, ahead of the July 4th holiday, I found myself trying to report and write an initial follow-up story to CMS’s proposed plans for the next round of competitive bidding.
Bid ceilings? Remote Item Delivery? Wake me up when it’s over.
But I’m here today to talk specifically about the proposal to include continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) in the program. Providers are, once...
When fraudsters thrive and programs fail: A $1B wake-up call
June 26, 2025HME News Staff
$2 million here. $10 million there. Another day, another brief detailing the latest allegations and convictions for DME fraud in the federal Medicare program.
“Why,” I recently asked Editor Liz while typing up the latest fraud item from the DOJ, “do people risk their freedom – and their good name – for a measly few million bucks?”
Well! This latest one turns out to be a fraud scheme to the tune of $1 billion for medically unnecessary equipment...
Time flies when you’re having fun
May 22, 2025John Andrews
I go back to the beginning with HME News. I was there in the mid-90s, when founder Neil Rouda dressed up like a newsboy to pass out the inaugural issue to everyone at Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas. At the time, I was senior editor with MPS (Medical Product Sales) and after reading the first issue, I was impressed by the depth and scope of the editorial staff’s HME industry knowledge. When I hung out my freelance shingle in January 2000, former HME News Editor Jim Sullivan inquired about my availability...