Archive: April 2007
'These products are just getting hotter'
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
SARASOTA, Fla. - Harmar Mobility spread its wings recently and embraced a whole new world: lifts that help people in, out and about their homes.
"Our core business has always been vehicle lifts, making mobility products mobile," said President Chad Williams. "Now we are getting into making homes accessible."
To handle this new emphasis on home accessibility, Harmar created a new company: Harmar Access. The company's three products include bathroom lifts for bathtubs and commodes; a porch lift set...
Arcadia restructures
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Arcadia Resources announced plans March 30 to restructure the company to "further sharpen its focus on its core businesses, strengthen future cash flow, integrate recent acquisitions, enhance organizational efficiency and significantly reduce operating expenses." Arcadia plans to close its Orlando, Fla., office, which provides corporate accounting and administrative functions; close several unprofitable DME facilities and consolidate their operations with other nearby facilities;...
Rotech secures credit, reports huge net loss
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
ORLANDO, Fla. - Rotech has received its second line of credit in less than six months. The provider received a $160 million line of credit from the Cayman Islands branch of Credit Suisse last month.
Rotech will use the credit to pay off and terminate a previous credit agreement. Late last year, the provider received a $120 million line of credit from Highland Financial Corp. (Highland Financial is an affiliate of Highland Capital Management, a Dallas-based firm that owns about 80% of American HomePatient's...
NCART adds its two cents
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
WASHINGTON - NCART plans to send the SADMERC a document "relatively soon" that proposes the agency carve up manual wheelchair codes into six categories.
"The current codes are too static and broad," said Sharon Hildebrandt, NCART's executive director. "They don't describe any configurations."
The SADMERC plans to revamp coding for manual wheelchairs this spring (See HME News March 2007).
The categories, as proposed by NCART: dependent; dependent light duty; standard; made-to-order; positioning;...
Express business
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
NASHUA, N.H. - When Charron Medical Services began offering breast pumps to customers last December, owner Michael George saw it as a natural extension of the company's product mix. It doesn't hurt, either, that two local hospitals and several health clinics sit nearby.
"There's significant demand from birthing centers to work with providers to provide breast pumps," said George.
Charron's retail store is located in a small shopping plaza, next door to a CVS, and enjoys lots of foot traffic, said...
Does AHP have a strategy?
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. - American HomePatient's net loss of $2.6 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, has industry watchers wondering why the national provider, which they describe as "treading water," hasn't detailed a turnaround plan.
AHP blamed Medicare reimbursement changes, especially those for inhalation drugs, for its losses. The provider posted a net income of $7.7 million for 2005.
"There's a concern in my mind and on Wall Street, I'm sure, that they haven't articulated that their strategy...
Greg Dupuis: Know your company's worth
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
Selling your business is not a decision to be made lightly. Providers should consider many factors before putting their company on the market, including their motivation for doing so. Greg Dupuis, director of merger and acquisition services for Oldsmar, Fla.-based Bridge Ventures, has successfully completed more than 200 transactions during his career. His Medtrade Spring seminar, "What is My Company Worth?" explores all the steps required for selling an HME enterprise. He shared some perspectives...
Scooter providers: We feel pain, too
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
Ever since CMS revamped its coding, pricing and coverage criteria for power mobility devices last fall, Bob Early has gradually reduced the number of scooters on his showroom floor to one (from seven) and increased the number of power wheelchairs to nine.
"We're doing a whole lot fewer scooters now," said Early, owner of VIP Scooters in Harrisonburg, Va. "See, the thing is, we take assignment on everything that goes through our door, and we've been taking a beating on scooters. It's not going well...
Warranties might not transfer, say providers
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
CMS's Open Door Forum on March 14 highlighted an important question: Just who is responsible for maintaining equipment once ownership passes to the beneficiary?
February marked the start of equipment transfers from providers to patients under the 13-month cap rental on DME, but apparently some practical considerations--like repairs--have yet to be figured out.
The question arose when a caller who works with Medicare beneficiaries asked if there were any rules in place requiring suppliers to provide...
AAH makes HME sole focus
April 30, 2007HME News Staff
ARLINGTON, Va. - AAHomecare's "noble effort" to represent the interests of HME and home healthcare companies ended last month.
In late February, the association's board of directors voted to discontinue the Home Health Advisory Council effective April 1 and represent only the interests of HME. AAHomecare announced the move last month, saying the decision boiled down to dollars and cents.
"When you sharpen the pencil and look back and see where the revenue is coming in, it made sense that we refocus...