Viemed readies to crack tough Chicago market Company also sees increase in its vent business, steps away from VA
By Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
Updated 9:51 AM CDT, Fri May 16, 2025
LAFAYETTE, La. – Viemed’s plan to buy Lehan’s Medical Equipment for $26 million provides a “strong beachhead” to grow in the Chicago area, says CEO Casey Hoyt.
Viemed announced May 6 that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the Dekalb, Ill.-based provider, which has six locations in the northern Illinois and west Chicagoland areas, including one in Wisconsin.
“Historically, we've had a tough time breaking into the Chicago market,” said Hoyt on a recent call to discuss the company’s first quarter earnings. “We believe this strong beachhead and this exceptional platform opens up a key market with significant embedded growth.”
Mutual benefits
In addition to new geographic territory, the deal broadens Viemed’s product portfolio and payer mix. Lehan’s has a large women’s health business – primarily breast pumps – that brings in more commercial contracts and diversifies the company away from Medicare, said Hoyt.
Viemed also sees an opportunity to leverage its expertise to boost Lehan’s respiratory business, which currently makes up 40% of the company's overall business, he said.
“We’re really excited about teaching them how to do complex respiratory in a unique manner and helping them grow their sleep business in a different way – moving from the more traditional sleep lab referral source business to a home sleep referral model,” said Hoyt. “We were able to do that with Home Medical Professionals, our previous transaction, and have been reaping some benefits from that.”
‘Blue ocean of opportunity’
As Viemed has sought to diversify its product mix, its vent business has slowly decreased from 90% to 54% of overall revenue, but that category was up 10% year-over-year in the first quarter and new patient starts were up 9% sequentially, a direct result of a sales restructuring in 2024, Hoyt said.
“These vent patients represent a massively underserved (population) and one of the populations I refer to as a blue ocean of opportunity,” he said.
Like other stakeholders, Viemed awaits CMS’s final decision on coverage for non-invasive positive pressure ventilation. A comment period for its proposed national coverage determination closed April 10, with stakeholders submitting a number of concerns, including the six-month re-evaluation and its impact on continued therapy.
“There are some things we like, some things we don’t and some that definitely need further clarification,” said Hoyt. “Overall, this is going in the right direction and is a great time for CMS to look at the actual data, see the savings and write a more fulsome reconsideration in the near future.”
VA opportunity ‘dead’
One opportunity that Viemed is no longer actively pursuing: Veterans Affairs contracts, which had long been a priority, says Hoyt.
“The VA opportunity, I’m just going to go ahead and say it, is dead,” he said. “We've had so many different folks coming and going through different administrations. It's been a broken system. We've had this thing at the one-yard line for multiple years, and it just hasn't come to fruition. And if they circle back with us, looking to take care of their veterans the right way, we'll be ready to do so.”
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