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On the Editor's Desk

by: Liz Beaulieu - Monday, May 14, 2012

Data has always been a hallmark of the HME News Business Summit. Each year in our Financial Benchmarking presentation, providers see how they stack up against their peers in everything from net revenues to DSO to employee expenses.

At this year's Summit, data is a thread that runs through nearly all of the sessions, whether the topic is the HME industry's future, retail sales or marketing:

Our lead-off speaker, Everette James, says the most effective way the industry can secure its future is to build a base of evidence that showcases its value in the healthcare continuum. James, who is a former secretary of health for the state of Pennsylvania, will analyze new delivery models for health care and examine how the HME industry can advance its position.

Returning speaker Michael Sperduti says an effective store layout isn't enough to help providers succeed at retail sales. That's why Sperduti, a business growth expert, has interviewed seniors about their spending and buying habits for home medical equipment.

First-time Summit speakers Anna McDevitt and Ryan McDevitt acknowledge that determining the ROI on marketing efforts is a mix of art and science. But Anna, a marketing consultant, and Ryan, a provider, are prepared to answer the question, "How much should I spend and where should I spend it," using statistics and metrics.

As always, there's another kind of data you'll get at the Summit—the kind you get from spending two days networking and brainstorming with your peers.

There's something to be said for a gut feeling. There's more to be said about a gut feeling backed up by data.

The data you're going to get at this year's Summit is data you can build your business on.

See you in Pittsburgh!

Tags:
HME News Business Summit, data
by: Liz Beaulieu - Wednesday, May 2, 2012

A number of us at HME News got a good chuckle when a press release with this headline popped up in our Google News Alerts:

“Raised Toilet Seats Online No Longer Accepts Returns on Toilet Seats and Commodes”

Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty says there’s no second-guessing what this provider does for a living. They sell…raised toilet seats…online.

The press release goes on to explain that the provider has changed its return policy and no longer accepts returns on raised toilet seats and commodes for personal hygiene reasons.

This makes complete sense for obvious reasons. Yet, most consumers I know don’t like to be permanently tied to a purchase they make sight unseen.

The release then goes on to offer, because the provider no longer accepts returns, tips on making better-educated purchasing decisions. Tips include: Determine if your toilet seat is round or elongated; determine the desired height of your raised toilet seat by stacking cushions on a chair; and determine if you want extras like padding or built-in or removable arms.

These tips are simple enough, if somewhat strange, at least that whole cushions-on-a-chair exercise. Do we really think that’s a safe idea for someone who needs a raised toilet seat to begin with?

That’s one reason I couldn’t help thinking, as I was reading this release, that I’d be making the best-educated and safest purchasing decision by visiting my local HME provider to discuss my needs with a friendly customer service rep and try before I buy.

And we’re not talking about a complicated piece of HME here. We’re talking about a raised toilet seat, not an oxygen concentrator or a CPAP device or a power wheelchair.

Government agencies like to make much ado about how easy and less expensive it is for Medicare beneficiaries to buy HME online.

This release delivers a funny but serious lesson on why it may not be smart.

Tags:
raised toilet seats, HOme medical equipment, online
by: Liz Beaulieu - Tuesday, April 24, 2012

You’ve probably noticed by now that HME News has a new website. We editors think our headshots are a little large, but other than that, we love the look of it. It’s much cleaner. We like clean.

The new website has a number of new features, too, that I’m pleased with. Among them: A tweet roll that features the tweets that we editors make, as we make them (we’re trying to figure out if we can get our re-tweets of your tweets up there, too); a guest blog for all of you who are feeling verbose and opinionated (email me at ebeaulieu@hmenews.com if you want to post); and a blog roll that lists HME-related blogs (email me if you want to be listed).

Note that, with all of these new features, we’re also trying to help you get up to speed with having more of an online and social media presence. We don’t have all of this figured out, by any means, but at least HME News is there and we want to talk to you and interact with you there.

Of course, nothing is perfect, including the new website. I’ve received emails from folks reporting an inability to find stories online and an iphone app that’s listing wicked old stories.

It turns out both of these have to do with the “re-indexing” of our old site to the new site. Our web guru tells me this process has now been completed, so you should find stories OK again (though web searches aren’t turning up stories in a logical order, with the most recently published stories at the top—we’re still working on that).

As for the iphone app: Now that the new website has been “re-indexed,” we have to wait for apple to approve our new app, which should take a week or two.

In a nutshell: Any pain from this new website, we’re feeling, too—and then some. Just ask Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty, who posted the May issue using the new system this week.

In the long run, though, we know, and you’ll learn, that this is a much better website.

In the meantime, let’s all be patient, especially the reader who emailed me this week saying, about the iphone app, “It’s annoying to know that I am paying for this.” Our web guru would like your mail address, so he can send you your 99 cents back.

Tags:
website, patience
by: Liz Beaulieu - Thursday, April 19, 2012

I admit I’m not one for change.

But earlier this week, when I read CMS’s release outlining some of the details for the Round 1 “recompete,” I bristled more than usual.

I expected, silly me, a re-do of the Round 1 re-bid, which was essentially a re-do of the original Round 1, with a few minor changes like dropping Puerto Rico as a bid area and limiting bids for support surfaces to the Miami bid area.

Those are changes I can deal with.

And I guess CMS made at least one significant change to Round 2 when it decided to combine manual and power wheelchairs into one product category. At least, I feel, the industry saw that one coming.

But the Round 1 “re-compete”? We have six instead of nine product categories, and few of these categories are comprised of the same products as the original Round 1, the Round 1 re-bid, or Round 2 for that matter.

Combining oxygen and sleep equipment and supplies into one product category?

Adding TENS to the general HME product category?

Introducing a new product category altogether: infusion pumps and supplies?

Let’s consider TENS. First of all, isn’t CMS considering dropping coverage for TENS for chronic lower back pain because, presumably, it believes the benefit is misused and/or overused? Then why would the agency include it in competitive bidding? Is this, as one provider theorized recently, CMS’s stab at preserving the benefit?

Secondly, not many providers supply TENS that I know of, but many providers supply beds. In the Round 1 “recompete,” they must supply both to bid?

Never mind that CMS has included in competitive bidding unfair practices like non-binding bids and a median pricing mechanism.

Now the agency is, in effect, dictating what providers supply?

They’re also, in effect, dictating their size, as only large providers have the financial resources and wherewithal to add products based on a whim like this.

It’s always been the word on the street that with competitive bidding CMS is trying to manipulate more than price.

Well, this pretty much proves it.

Tags:
competitive bidding, round 1
by: Liz Beaulieu - Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Heather Pagano in our marketing department had a great idea to promote the 2012 HME Excellence Awards: Get testimonials from last year's winners on how the awards impacted their businesses.

If you're wondering whether it's worth the five minutes it will take you to fill out the application for the HME Excellence Awards, read these testimonials from Glass Seating and Mobility (Best Rehab Technology Provider) and Alpine Home Medical Equipment (Best HME Provider).

From Glass Seating and Mobility:

Winning the HME excellence award has not only been beneficial from a marketing standpoint but has also created a positive and fun environment at our office. The employees enjoyed the recognition and it really has increased morale. In this industry we are often bombarded with reimbursement cuts, negative news, audits, etc. Winning the award has said to us and our employees, "Keep working hard, you are doing something right!”
 
We’ve had a number of local newspapers, magazines and differing media outlets pick up the story. Ranging from medical society publications to business journals and local papers, we have gotten some great press. It’s also forced us to rethink our marketing strategy on our website, vans and brochures. Many of the things that tend to go untouched because of time restraints took on much greater importance with all the name recognition. We are very thankful to HME News and hope to see more companies participating in the awards process the future.

From Alpine Home Medical:

Since winning the award, we have marketed the title via radio, digital signs, and in-store print advertising. We feel very proud to carry this title, especially considering that it is held on a national level. We have made a great effort to let our customers know that we won this particular award, and what it took to achieve this accomplishment. What it all goes back to, and the reason we feel we were awarded this honor, is because of the mission of Alpine—which is to support and give back to our customers, our employees, and our community.

Sounds good, right? The marketing opportunities are endless. The press attention is something you can't buy. And the boost to employee morale is, well, priceless.

We're collecting applications until May 25. Like Teresa Glass Owens at Glass Seating and Mobility said, "We hope to see more companies participating in the awards process in the future." Last year, we had about 75 applications. This year, we want more.

This year, of all years, we expect more. Why? The HME Excellence Awards are as good a chance as any to celebrate all that's good about the HME industry, and I think we could all use a little of that.

So  get crackin.

Liz Beaulieu

by: Liz Beaulieu - Tuesday, April 10, 2012

I just checked the results of our HME NewsPoll and, so far, with 126 respondents, they're looking very interesting.

First, we asked our readers whether they submitted one or more bids for Round 2 of competitive bidding. About 83% reported they did. That's not surprising, though 83% is a little lower than I thought it would be. That means 17% of providers didn't submit a bid. Based on a quick glance at the comments to the Poll, it looks like these providers have decided to wash their hands of Medicare.

Second, we asked our readers whether they submitted a bid in an area that they currently do not serve. About 63% reported they did not.

Third, we asked our readers whether they submitted a bid for a product category that they currently do not provide. About 85% reported they did not.

Anecdotally, I've heard the opposite is true of the second question. One provider told me he showed up to a hearing for new DME license applicants in a certain state and only a handful of the dozen or so new applicants in attendance had any presence there at the time.

Another provider told me he submitted bids in Greensboro and Asheville, N.C., and Greenville, S.C., even though he has no existing patients in the first city and very few patients in the second and third.

I think it makes sense, within reason, for providers to branch out geographically as part of competitive bidding. If I'm like the provider above, who is based in Charlotte, it probably makes sense to bid in surrounding areas.

If I'm a provider based in California and I bid in Greensboro—that's where it gets tricky, especially for an industry that's trying to build its reputation on service, not products.

See the HME NewsWire on Monday for the official results of the NewsPoll, plus some comments from readers. And if you haven't already, by all means, take the NewsPoll.

See you in Vegas!

Liz Beaulieu

Tags:
competitive bidding, On The Editor's Desk, HME NewsPoll
by: Liz Beaulieu - Wednesday, April 4, 2012

You might not want to count on the U.S. Supreme Court to save the HME industry from a host of painful provisions in the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Those provisions include, among others, expanding competitive bidding to 21 additional areas, applying a 2.3% excise tax on medical devices, and eliminating the first-month purchase option for power wheelchairs.

AAHomecare pointed out last week that if the court decides in June to overturn the ACA it would effectively eliminate those provisions.

Which is true.

And don't think that point went unnoticed. When I was working on stories last week, at least two people mentioned to me, "Well, if the court overturns the Affordable Care Act..."

It's true but, it turns out, highly unlikely.

I called some people in the know today and asked them about the chances of this happening, and, frankly, they made me feel kind of silly for asking.

The politest way to put it: "We don't expect any decision they make to have much of an impact on us."

If anything, the court will likely strike down only the individual mandate provision, which will have no impact on the HME provisions whatsoever.

So there you have it.

There will be no further stories about this in HME News.

Because that would be silly.

Liz Beaulieu

Tags:
On The Editor's Desk, Affordable Care Act, Supreme Court
by: Liz Beaulieu - Friday, March 30, 2012

I'll admit that it kind of irked me when one of our readers posted a comment to our website that called HME News "Medicare Whine Central." The reason for that lovely moniker: The plethora of stories we write on competitive bidding.

The reader's right, of course.

While I'm not going to defend our coverage of competitive bidding , as I feel like I've done that many, many times before, I do think it's worth repeating that HME News is often a mere reflection of the prevalent mood of HME providers at any given time. With Round 1 of competitive bidding making its debut last year and with Round 2, a significant expansion of the program, slated to debut in 2013, providers have been doing a lot of whining. And who can blame them?

(On a side note: I'd like to point out that four of the five most read stories on our website for the month of March  have nothing to do with competitive bidding. They have to do with an FBI raid, FDA warning letters, Apria's internal shakeup and Scooter Store setbacks. The one story that does have to do with competitive bidding is sort of a feel good story: One provider's efforts to get as many people as possible to sign an online petition to stop the program. But I said I wouldn't get into it...)

What all of this whining means is that a good number of providers out there could use a pep talk.

And we have just that: "Time for change: Restructuring your business for success," our April 3 webcast with Michael Sperduti of Emerge Sales.

It's all pep, no whine.

Sperduti gave me a sneak peak of the webcast this week, and it's chock full of "put it in perspective" messages (You're not alone: During the next five years, 83% of all companies will face a crisis that will threaten their existence or negatively impact profitability by 20% to 30%, according to research by Oxford-Metrica) and "get it done" business ideas (Stop doing stupid things like selling products/services below your cost).

This webcast will put you back in a frame of mind to control what you can (the success of your company) and stop obsessing about what you can't (the single payment amounts for competitive bidding).

What else is there to do?

Liz Beaulieu

Tags:
competitive bidding, On The Editor's Desk, webcast, success
by: Liz Beaulieu - Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Like many of you, I'm heading to Las Vegas in less than two weeks for Medtrade Spring. I have reservations about this, but it has nothing to do with the show, which I know will be great!

My reservations are heretofore:

1.) I'm flying Jet Blue, which was more appealing before this happened. Mind you, you're reading the words of a person who:

  • shows up at the airport at least two hours early (with no exceptions, even when departing from PWM, you know, Portland, Maine);
  • who, upon sitting in her seat, immediately locates the barf bag (believe me, it's for more than writing a jokey note to your best friend the first time you ride a plane when you're 16); and
  • who stays buckled in her aisle seat at all times (unless the man or woman or child sitting by the window can't control their bladders or their restless leg syndrome like she can).

You know what will happen if the pilot of the plane I am on exits the cockpit and runs around yelling about bombs and screaming for passengers to pray? I will pass out, you guys.

2.) Our esteemed contributing editor, Jennifer Keirn, will not be at the show to help out the HME News editors with HME News TV, which, if you haven't noticed, she's very good at, much better than any of us. An interesting little side note about that: I think, if I remember correctly, that she and her husband met in college while working on-air for their college radio station. Anyway, Jennifer has the audacity to be going on vacation with her family that week to...San Franciso. I know I may be in the minority, here, but I'd take San Fran over Vegas any day. My mother still claims I am not  her daughter because I will spend three days in Las Vegas each year and I will not put as little as one quarter in a slot machine. I got no interest, what can I tell ya?

The good news about Jennifer not being at Medtrade Spring: I, and I alone, am guaranteed to have as many as 30 minutes to chat and catch up with the 21 people who have graciously agreed to be interviewed. It's a good group; check it out:

Wednesday, April 11

10:30    Cara Bachenheimer    senior vp of government relations, Invacare
11:00    Sarah Hanna    vp, ECS Billing & Consulting
11:30    Rob Baumhover    director of retail programs, The VGM Group
12:00    Wayne Grau    vp, contracting & business services, The MED  Group
12:30    Jeffrey Baird    chairman of the Health Care Group, Brown & Fortunato
1:00    David Hartley    CEO, Home Health Depot
1:30    Angela Miller    president/general manager, Medical Auditing Solutions
2:00    Paul Guth    president and CEO, Roscoe Medical
2:30    B.J. Bowser    HME consultant, Lieber Consulting
3:00    Doug Harper    group vp, sales and market development, North America, Invacare
3:30    Jay Brislin    vp, Quantum Rehab
4:00    Pam Felkins Colbert    vp, The van Halem Group
4:30    Dave Cormack    president and CEO, Brightree

10:30    Dave Bargmann    social media consultant, Duckridge Advisors
11:00    Kevin Gaffney    group show director, Medtrade
11:30    Louis Refrano    president and CEO, Rofrano Performance Group
12:00    Tony Anzalone    vp of marketing, Inova Labs
1:00    Seth Johnson    vp of government affairs, Pride Mobility Products
1:30    PJ Ruflin    director of national accounts, Sunset Healthcare Solutions
2:00    Tyler Wilson    president and CEO, AAHomecare
2:30    Erika Feinberg    CEO, ActiveForever.com

Feel free to stop by the TV studio to, you know, embarrass a colleague who's being interviewed or bring me a coffee. Maybe make that a water. Managing Editor Theresa Flaherty doesn't like it when I drink too much coffee. The studio will be in the Sands Expo and Convention Center, just before the registration area for Medtrade Spring.

Liz Beaulieu

Tags:
HME News TV, Medtrade Spring, medtrade spring, On The Editor's Desk
by: Liz Beaulieu - Friday, March 23, 2012

Vince Crew, a familiar and friendly face at HME conferences for 15 years, has decided to take his consulting company, Reach Development, in a new direction by working with other healthcare companies like hospitals. Here’s what Crew had to say in an “exit interview” with HME News this week.

HME News: What’s one thing that you have witnessed in the HME industry in the past 15 years that sticks out in your mind?

Vince Crew: It’s the only industry I know of that, the better they’ve gotten, the less money they make. There have been more and more demands on HME providers to raise the bar—get accredited, make more investments, get leaner, do more strategic planning, hire better, deliver better service. Do all of that and, by the way, you’re going to make less money and your cash flow is going to stink. It’s just so sad.

HME: It’s been a struggle for providers.

Crew: It has. But is there a future? Yeah, there are good days ahead. Every industry has gone through this—the automakers, the banks.

HME: Where should providers be focusing their attention to get through it all?

Crew: My mentor, Shelly Prial, the godfather of HME, was preaching about retail sales 15 years ago. The future is retail sales. The future is collaboration with others to get some synergies going, whether that’s working with other providers with tangential services or looking at M&A. The future is no longer, “I’m an independent and proud of it.” The days of being a lone wolf are gone.

HME: Where has the HME industry made the biggest strides in the past 15 years?

Crew: I’ve seen HME providers become better business people. Accreditation was just a thorn in the side of so many providers and yet it was all about bringing solid business, strategic, operational and ethical stuff into companies that needed it. Sure, a lot of providers were delivering those things already, but it still raised the bar.

HME: In what kind of state do you leave the HME industry?

Crew: One of the best things that has happened to me at every HME conference I’ve ever spoken at: I see all these young people in the crowd. You know, the industry isn’t in trouble as long as you see those young people in the crowd. We just need to find better business models to give these young people a chance to come in and do what they want to do, which is to help people stay in their homes.

Liz Beaulieu

Tags:
On The Editor's Desk, retail, Retail, Vince Crew, future

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