'One financial story'

Aside from maybe diversifying into retail, collecting co-pays has been the drum most beat in the HME industry in the past five to 10 years. Has that beat finally reached a crescendo?

Kurt Lovell, COO of Patientco, which provides a solution that allows patient to manage and pay their bills from various healthcare providers, would like to think so.

“It's been a problem too long ignored,” he said. “HME providers are finally waking up and saying, 'Oh my gosh, co-pay is a profit.'”

Patientco, which has its roots in hospitals and physicians groups, has been targeting HME providers for only about a year and some change. It snagged a big client this summer: Medical Services of America. The Lexington, S.C.-based provider has more than 100 locations in 14 states.

Now that providers are finally catching on, here's what Lovell had to say about the future of Patientco and patient collections: “What we're paying attention to is the shift in the healthcare spectrum toward the accountable care organization (ACO) model. If you think of the confines of the ACO, it's all about being accountable to patients. Allowing them to pay their bills and have one financial story for their care is important. That's Patientco.”