Archive: October 2002

YARMOUTH, Maine — With Lincare advertising that it can complete an acquisition in 30 days and Apria reportedly turning deals just as fast, some wonder if the nationals are skimping on due diligence in their mad dash to add market share. "I'm not going to say it is worse than it has ever been, but despite increasing regulatory pressure, the due diligence process hasn't improved very much," said a particularly critical industry watcher. "I'm not saying that after the sale they don't look carefully...

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — A Canadian HME company that's been out of the U.S. market since the late 1990s is gearing up to re-enter the States, beginning with a multimillion-dollar financing deal and a listing on a U.S. stock exchange. AMS Homecare, a Vancouver-based mobility products provider that serves as the sole authorized distributor for Shop-rider products in Canada, announced in early October that it had signed an agreement with Cornell Capital Partners, Jersey City, N.J. Under...

WASHINGTON — The HME industry's lobbying efforts paid off big-time last month when four U.S. Senators made public their opposition to competitive bidding in a letters to Senators Baucus and Grassley. Baucus and Grassley authored a piece of legislation that would authorize CMS to roll out competitive bidding nationwide in metropolitan statistical areas with populations greater than 500,000. "It would be unwise to rush to implement a national program, in light of the fact that CMS has instituted...

Building profits in nebulizer medications takes a a pharmacy. No secret there. Don't have one? Got to get one. In the meantime, strategies do exist to help you refer out the medical side of the respiratory HME equation without sticking your head in the sand and without giving away your business to others. A key to successfully referring patients to pharmaceutical operations—and to planning for your own pharmacy operation down the road—is knowing how many patients you have, said Marcus...

Hospital sells $14 million HME to Lincare ST. LOUIS — A non-profit hospital system, apparently scared by the specter of competitive bidding, sold its seven-location, $14 million HME to Lincare last month. "Core competencies are a very big thing for us and Lincare is a well respected provider in the field," said Tom Edelstein, vice president of Unity Health Services. "It worked out well." Provide Medical, the company Lincare acquired was part of Unity, a division of St. John's Mercy Health...

Reaching the image oriented WITH ALISON CHERNEY Q: BusinessWeek just identified Apria's board as one of the best in the country. The AARC just gave Apria's director of respiratory services the most prestigious award in the market. How do I compete against that? A: Large companies certainly have the advantage of being recognized as leaders in their industry and have the opportunity to engage in significant public relations activities. As the owner or manager of a smaller company, it is important...

YARMOUTH, Maine — With its $165 million acquisition of American Homecare Supply, Air Products may be making all the noise, but that doesn't mean competitors Air Liquide and Praxair aren't going about their business of building sizeable HME companies in the United States. "We are going to go at our own time table," said Al Sperry, Air Liquide vice president. "That time table hasn't changed because Praxair or Air Products or any body else does something." Air Liquide paid $18 million in 2000...

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — In one of the largest deals ever involving an independent home medical equipment provider, Air Products, a $5.7 billion industrial gas and European homecare giant, acquired American Homecare Supply last month for $165 million in cash. For the HME industry, the deal is more proof that the mergers and acquisitions market isn't going to slow down anytime soon. In fact, this deal reinforces the notion to investors that the home medical equipment market is "the place to be,"...

UPINs under scrutiny WITH BRUCE BOTHIS Q: What's all the hoopla regarding surrogate UPIN numbers? A. A report from the OIG dated September 2002 sheds light on the rampant incorrect use of surrogate UPIN numbers. The report estimates that 61% of 1999 sample DMERC claims were incorrectly billed using a surrogate UPIN rather than the ordering physician's permanent UPIN. A similar 2001 OIG report concluded that 14,000 different invalid UPIN numbers were used in 1999 with a cost to Medicare of over $32...

That Apria has been anointed Best Home Respiratory Provider in the United States in an awards program sponsored by this publication, AAHomecare and Medtrade has no doubt turned some heads in this industry. Conventional wisdom says the best provider is the local provider. Nationals are chump change when they're up against a local who's firing on all cylinders. The 2002 awards notwithstanding, that sentiment is likely to rein in this industry. But Apria's selection is a remarkable choice, if only...