Providers

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – After a lengthy period of relative quiet, Apria Healthcare’s planned IPO could signal a company that is ready to grow, say M&A analysts.  The provider on Jan. 15 filed a Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a step it must take before filing an initial public offering.  “They’ve been a bit conspicuous by their absence in doing transactions,” said Jonathan Sadock, managing partner/CEO of Paragon...

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – Apria on Jan. 15 filed a Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a step it must take before filling an initial public offering.  Apria says it intends to list its shares of common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “APR.” After completing its offering, Blackstone Group will continue to own a majority of the voting power of shares, according to the form.  Apria discloses that it served nearly 2 million...

YARMOUTH, Maine – The theme for buyers and sellers in 2021 is “respiratory, respiratory, respiratory,” said Don Davis, president of Duckridge Advisors.  Helping to drive that trend: AdaptHealth, which capped off a busy 2020 by announcing in December that it would acquire AeroCare, which specializes in CPAP, nebulizers, oxygen and ventilators, for nearly $2 billion in cash and shares.  “It’s perfect iteming – the demographics are there,...

YARMOUTH, Maine – As COVID-19 cases spike across the country, HME providers are seeing a spike in demand for home oxygen therapy, so much so that they’re worrying about their supply of concentrators.  Provider Woody O’Neal has seen a threefold increase in oxygen and services since December and says he’s concerned the health care system hasn’t seen the worst of it.  “My concern is that this post-holiday...

PHOENIX – AZ MediQuip has received funding from private equity partner Gemini Investors to open new stores across the Southwest and make strategic acquisitions.  Mark Nicotera, who started AZ MediQuip in 2011 and has grown the company to four locations in the Phoenix area, will remain CEO.  “When I started this business, there was a deep need for not just a business to sell HME products, but to also offer complete home medical solutions,” he said. “Our...

WALTHAM, Mass. – Great Elm DME gained momentum during its first fiscal quarter 2021, but it hasn’t yet rebounded to pre-COVID levels, company execs said on a recent earnings call. The company reported net revenue of $14.6 million, an increase of 10.4% year-over-year and 5% sequentially. While Great Elm saw “strong” growth in CPAP resupplies, that growth was offset by a decline of 24.7% year over year in new patient setups and only an increase of 2.8% sequentially, said...

Seventy-two percent of consumers say they prefer to recover at home, and 97% of payers say home-based care is in the best interest of consumers and payers, according to a new report, “Health-at-Home 2020: The New Standard of Care Delivery,” published by CareCentrix. The slow-moving health care industry is finally catching up, says Dr. Jasen Gundersen, chief medical officer for CareCentrix, leveraging telehealth in a big way to increase care in the home. Gundersen spoke with HME News...

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rotech Healthcare has obtained $425 million in new financing via an amended and reinstated credit agreement with a diverse group of lenders.  The provider used part of the proceeds to pay a $100 million dividend to its holding company and will use the remainder to support growth through strategic acquisitions.  “This new credit agreement provides Rotech with sufficient...

CARROLLTON, Texas – Hospice Source has deepened its presence in the California hospice market with the acquisition of Martinez, Calif.-based Superior Healthcare. “We have an existing patient load out there and it’s really in service of our mission: providing compassionate care to as many hospice partners and their patients and families as we can,” said Clay Hooten, director of marketing and communications at Hospice Source. “(Superior Healthcare) gives us the ability...

NEW YORK – The acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York has announced a $40.5 million settlement with Apria Healthcare for alleged fraudulent billing practices for non-invasive ventilators.  The lawsuit alleges, among other claims, that Apria submitted false claims to federal health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, seeking reimbursement for the rental of non-invasive vents to beneficiaries who were not using the NIVs.   Other claims in the...