Company creates path to savings

MONSEY, N.Y. - WTI Outsourcing says it has the key to HME providers saving money: using overseas employees to do their back office operations.

WTI, a 12-year-old consulting firm that entered the HME market about a year ago and recently exhibited at its first Medtrade Spring, outsources specific functions in a provider's ordering/billing processes to overseas employees, reducing the company's costs dramatically.

“One client I have uses two and a half employees overseas to verify eligibility at $8 an hour,” said Abe Weinberger, business development manager. “Providers are paying employees here anywhere from $14 to $16 per hour, but when you factor in benefits and other costs, it's more like $20 to $22 per hour. We figure it's a $20,000 savings per employee per year.”

WTI charges providers $8 to $10 per hour per employee, depending on the task.

WTI found a need for its services in the HME market when it was approached by an enteral provider that had won a significant number of competitive bidding contracts and couldn't keep its head above water.

“They had staffing issues and they couldn't hire someone here at the high labor rates,” Weinberger said. “They heard we did medical billing for hospitals and they knew if we could do that we could help them. They essentially trained us in the nuances between medical billing and DME.”

This provider still contracts with WTI for about 30 overseas employees.

Although WTI leverages overseas employees, its clients deal with the company itself, based in Monsey, N.Y., Weinberger says.

“All the support for our clients is done here,” he said. 

As for any anxiety that providers might have with handing off the backbones of their businesses to overseas employees—they should do their homework, Weinberger acknowledges.

“This is why we give people a free trial,” he said. “There are contracts signed for HIPAA and security compliance—things like that. It's like with anything: You have to look into who you're dealing with, and we're confident of our abilities.”