Archive: April 2002
"I think the conclusion you can draw is that Innomed wrote a press release that was sufficiently effective in scaring
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
-Â Analyst Bruce Jacobs of Deutsche Banc Alex Brown in Boston on the stock prices of the nation's two CPAP heavyweights, respironics and resmed, declining sharply following reports that innomed technologies had logged $20 million in sales commitments for its new nasal interface.
Go to story
People
William Post has joined Respironics as vice president of sales and marketing. Post previously worked as president and CEO of Opticon Medical, a development-stage medical device company in the...
Question & Answer
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
Analyst: HME prospects have never looked better
NEW YORK CITY — As managing director and group head of Banc of America's healthcare equity research, Todd Richter has his microscope trained on Lincare and Apria. With news about Lincare (its stock being downgraded), Rotech (emerging from bankruptcy) and American HomePatient (attracting institutional investors) popping in recent months, HME News got Richter on the horn for his take on the nationals and the home medical equipment industry at large.
HME:...
CMS ready to roll with wheelchair demo
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
WASHINGTON — It appears CMS will finally be ready to roll this summer with the consumer-directed DME (CD-DME) demonstration, which carries the lofty goal of streamlining the rigmarole involved in buying a wheelchair.
A year and a half after announcing plans for the demonstration, CMS recently named Cigna Medicare, the Boise, Idaho-based Region D DMERC, as claims processor for the three-year CD-DME. Now, all systems are go for the demonstration to take off July 1.
Per the demonstration, four...
Ohio State U. switches to Apria
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
WORTHINGTON, Ohio — In April, Apria inked a deal to handle the home medical equipment needs of University Home Care Services, a piece of Ohio State University. Apria replaces Columbus Prescription Pharmacies as University Home Care's HME subcontractor. The university chose Apria because it offers coverage beyond central Ohio, said Kelley Milliken, University Home Care president.
The broader network is needed so a continuum of care can be provided, the president added. HME
Home monitoring: down, not out
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
BROOKFIELD, Wis. — If you'd asked a year ago, Buzz Peddicord would have said the home monitoring market for HMEs was dead. Now he's seeing a flickering of life.
Peddicord, whose company HomMed makes a home monitoring device for CHF patients, said the managed care trend toward capitating hospitals has opened a potential market for HMEs.
"Now they can go to the hospital," he said, "and say, 'Hey, want to discharge patients earlier? The answer is usually yes. You want to keep the frequent flyers...
Unbundling: What makes sense?
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
YARMOUTH, Maine —Â MED Group CEO David Miller's proposal to create higher HME supplier standards and to rework the Medicare fee schedule (see HME News, April 15, 2002) turned heads at AAHomecare's Leadership Conference in February and has kindled opinions among HME providers that both parallel Miller's proposal and diverge from it.
In follow-up interviews with a handful of HME industry leaders, HME News found a consensus of opinion on at least two points: that the Medicare program must...
Apria's net income grows to $23 million
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
LAKE FOREST, Calif. — Apria Healthcare reported net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2002 of $23 million compared to pro forma net income of $18.5 million a year ago.
Net revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2002, were $301.3 million, an 11% increase compared to $271.4 million in the first quarter of 2001. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $69 million in the first quarter of 2002, compared to $63.2 million in the first quarter of 2001....
Lincare's first quarter revenues jump 19%
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Lincare Holdings reported revenues for the quarter ended March 31 of $228.5 million, a 19% increase over the same period last year.
Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2002, was $45.2 million compared to net income of $31.5 million for the first quarter of 2001. During the first quarter of 2002, Lincare completed the acquisition of seven companies with annualized revenues of $16 million and operations in nine states.
The acquired businesses were located in Georgia,...
Congress seriously considers national competitive bidding
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
WASHINGTON — While national competitive bidding has appeared as a proposal in the federal budget during past administrations, industry officials are taking it more seriously than ever this year.
"Big paradigm shifts get floated around for several years before they are taken seriously," said healthcare attorney Tom Antone. "Congress is considering it seriously this year to the point that it is not just in the President's budget, but Hill staffers are fleshing it out."
There's a chance the...
Finance
April 30, 2002HME News Staff
Enron's impact on HMEs
WITH TOM CARDEN
Q.What do Enron and Arthur Anderson have to do with me?
A. From afar, it would not seem to have much affect on the HME market or, for that matter, most companies outside the energy production and trading industry or the accounting profession, but it probably will.
Congress is asking Arthur Anderson executives and many others in the accounting profession what responsibilities accountants have to clients, stockholders and creditors. Are there conflicts of...