Archive: July 2005

As usual this month, I've got more questions than answers. - The first one's the elephant in the room at AAHomecare. How do you keep all of your members happy when some of them are horrified by the imminence of competitive bidding and want you to wage a scorched earth campaign to prevent it, and others (i.e. large national suppliers) are likely to profit handsomely from a boon in market share? Part of the answer lies in the formation of an ad doc committee to push for an 'any qualified provider'...

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- Robert Hoover, who's worked as the medical director at the Region D DMERC for seven years, is leaving CIGNA for a new position as Sunrise Medical's senior vice president of global clinical services. In an announcement last Thursday, Sunrise Medical said that Hoover will use "his extensive experience, knowledge and relationships with medical professionals to help further establish Sunrise Medical as a true partner within the healthcare community." In the same press release, Hoover...

NEW YORK -- Manufacturers generated revenues of $5.2 billion in home medical equipment products in 2004, according to a new study released in June by Kalorama Information. The report predicts that vendor sales will jump by 8% annually, reaching $7.5 billion by 2009. While manufacturers say that some of the findings are close to the mark -- i.e. Invacare said its HME sales mirrored Kalorama's finding of $602 million, a 50% market share -- other findings are out of touch. For example, Kalorama reports...

ATLANTA -- A tribunal of the American Arbitration Association ruled that Lou Malice of American Breast Care violated his contract with Coloplast and misappropriated trade secrets. The tribunal issued an injunction against Malice and awarded damages to Coloplast. But the terms of the settlement do not prevent Malice from working at ABC, where he plans to resume his position as co-CEO with Jay Markowitz. In a separate action last fall, a federal judge ruled that American Breast Care had not misappropriated...

WASHINGTON -- CMS announced last week that it had approved 143 new managed care plans for service in 2005, a dramatic boost over the number of plans previously available to seniors. With the addition of the new plans, Medicare beneficiaries will have access to 428 health plans across the country, including 41 plans that are new to the program and 66 new local PPOs. At AAHomecare's annual legislative conference last month, former CMS Administrator Tom Scully predicted that as many as half of all...

There are several new and exciting developments at HME News that will take place over the coming months. I'm very pleased to be able to tell you about them here. We are about to begin a major new initiative to deliver critical data in a variety of forms to the HME industry. As you know, we're producing our first-ever HME Business Summit in Sept. and response has been excellent. In the course of programming this event, Jim Sullivan discovered a knack for mining a vast amount of data that will be...

WASHINGTON -- In what one industry watcher called "a great day for oxygen users," the Federal Aviation Administration passed a rule in July that should make it much easier for respiratory patients to travel onboard commercial airlines. On July 12, the FAA issued a rule that allows, but does not require, airlines to let patients travel with portable oxygen concentrators during all phases of the flight, including take-off and landing. This is the first time oxygen patients have had the opportunity...

FT. WAYNE, Ind. -- Even with all the news about the HME industry's M&A frenzy, there's no shortage of providers taking the necessary steps to survive and thrive in today's challenging reimbursement climate, say industry consultants. "People are rising to the occasion," said Wallace Weeks, president of The Weeks Group in Melbourne, Fla. "That is why we still have this industry. Otherwise, it would have died in some legislation years back." Indeed, the industry's 2004 M&A activity tallied 90 deals,...

LAKE MARY, Fla. -- Priority Healthcare acquired Louisville, Ky.-based SpectraCare's $32-million infusion business in June, a move indicative of the booming M&A activity in that business segment. SpectraCare's six specialty pharmacies in four states will be integrated into Priority's existing Integrity Healthcare Services specialty infusion business, which has 29 branches in 18 states. Priority acquired Integrity Healthcare in June 2004. "This acquisition leverages current opportunities while...

WASHINGTON -- AAHomecare in June created a new ad hoc committee that will lobby for an "any qualified provider" provision in nationwide competitive bidding and other issues of specific interest to small HME suppliers. The trade group said last week it believes CMS should not limit the number of HME providers under competitive bidding if those providers can meet prescribed prices and quality standards. That provision, now in legislation drafted by Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, could be contentious,...