Editorial

2020 may well go down in history as one of the most challenging years of the modern era. From the COVID-19 pandemic to civil unrest and a contentious political climate, this year required more flexibility and resilience from individuals and businesses than any in recent memory. Yet, these challenges also shed light on issues both old and new. And for those with an eye for opportunity, 2020 brought many lessons that can help grow and improve their businesses for the future.   Here’s...

In theory, health care consumerism is a straight-forward idea: Shifting costs to consumers, typically in the form of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), gives them an incentive to make informed decisions about the health care services they purchase. In practice, consumerism represents a significant challenge to providers' bottom lines. A recent report reveals that for 74% of providers, patient collections take over a month. Further, 66% of providers said patient receivables are a primary revenue...

Since 1965, when the Medicare Trust was first established, entrepreneurial individuals have established and built a wide variety of health care businesses to serve and support a growing population of those in need of medical care. Soon thereafter, the HME sector as we now know it was born.Receiving care and treatment in the safety and comfort of their home quickly became the preferred method for patients to receive medical care. The associated cost savings became increasingly attractive to the U.S....

With COVID-19 permeating every aspect of our lives and our media experience, we look for the good in our communities and continue to celebrate the front-line workers: health care staff, truckers, grocery store clerks, gas station attendants and the list continues. They are the heroes tirelessly working so we can stay at home and abide by the stay at home orders.Have you wondered about the “sidekicks” who are behind the scenes making sure the heroes and heroines have what they need to...

Perhaps a piece of silver lining that has come from the pandemic is the provider's hands-on experience in adapting to change and creating new forms of patient management. Historically, they have provided equipment that is crucial in the care continuum, but now they must evolve and provide more value than tangible equipment, especially when they are offering products that may not be unique.Care providers will seek DMEs who are complete partners in each patient's health care journey, provide excellent...

Proper management of respiratory equipment is one of the most overlooked and underserved areas of your business, potentially “leaking” tens of thousands of dollars (or more) per year.Know your assetsI'm constantly surprised at how many HME companies do not know the status of their fleet of respiratory equipment. Simple questions such as: How many concentrators/vents/POCs do you have? Where are they? When were they last serviced? What are the PM due dates? Many companies rely on spreadsheets...

The recent coronavirus pandemic is a good reminder that we should be planning now for the next pandemic. And the one after that. These events are matters of “when” they will hit, not “if.”Natural disasters—whether severe ice storms, Hurricane Katrina or pandemics—also have reminded HME providers that they are first responders and should be built in to disaster protocols.  There's no excuse for Americans to get caught flat-footed, since we have done plenty...

I am writing on behalf of the Council for Quality Respiratory Care (CQRC) to highlight how our members—the home oxygen, sleep, and ventilation therapy suppliers and manufacturers-are prepared to help during the COVID-19 emergency when patients diagnosed with the disease have access to the equipment and supplies they need to recover. For us to fully serve these patients, however, we need your help in trying to address some of regulatory restriction that will be a barrier to caring for these...

Our bid was a simple matter. We are one of two independent DME companies in our city. I don't know if they intended to participate or not, but our bid was simple to calculate—“one dollar under the limiting amount” in all regards bid. We bid in this manner because we are a small company. Since we are an independent local company, the rules say CMS will offer local vendors 20% of the business. There are only two of us left after competitive bidding forced the closure of all the other...

Over the last several years, HME has been transforming into a more technology focused industry. With the introduction of competitive bidding and the current narrow window of “any willing provider,” companies are forced to look at not just revenue, but also how much profit is being generated by all this “new” revenue. The biggest hurdle in this newfound vision is making sense of the numbers. Specifically, how much does it cost, what is the profit margin, and most importantly,...