Tariffs, tech, payer alignment top of mind at Option Care

BANNOCKBURN, Ill. – Option Care neither manufactures nor directly imports products that may be subject to tariffs, but the company is still performing its due diligence as it keeps an eye on the constantly evolving landscape. 

As of May, there is a 125% tariff on products imported from China and a 10% general tariff on imported products from other countries.  

“We’ve had a team that has been working to do a comprehensive review of all of our country of origin for all of our products and trying to anticipate what that looks like,” said John Rademacher, CEO, during a recent conference call to discuss the company’s first quarter earnings for 2025. “The biggest concern would be around China, and China is less than 10% of (our roughly $100 million spend on med supplies) and we have alternative vendors that could mitigate some of that. But we don’t think it’s a significant amount at this point.” 

Leveraging ‘jump pad’ 

During the quarter, Option Care closed on its acquisition of Intramed Plus and integration is “on track” to achieve financial and operational performance goals. The company is implementing best practices from Intramed’s operations across the network, particularly next-gen technology, says Rademacher. 

“It gives us a sandbox to play in – a place to have an innovation center around some of the technology – as we’re thinking about that next generation intelligent platform that we’re building,” he said. “So, it gave us a jump pad to really start from in a really informative and I think innovative way.” 

Managing ‘bed days’ 

Option Care’s 16% revenue growth for the quarter was balanced across the therapy portfolio, with high teens growth in chronic therapies and mid-teens growth in acute therapies – “notably higher” than the company has seen historically, driven by improved infusion bag supply, shifting market dynamics and investments in servicing acute patients, says Rademacher. 

Option Care also believes its goals are aligned with payer partners to better manage the number of “bed days” for in-patient services. 

“We believe we are well positioned to serve patients with complex needs as they are being discharged from the hospital,” he said. “(As health plans) are feeling pressures, we believe we provide a valuable solution by providing high-quality care at an appropriate cost in a setting in which their members want to receive it.” 

• Related: Option Care prioritizes practitioner model.