Consider us 'woke'

One of the many tasks the editors at HME News field is drumming up a newspoll each month. Sometimes the questions are better than others, and sometimes what seemed like a great question, on second read, after the poll already goes out, seem obvious.

This month's topic, Amazon, definitely generated lots of comments on the impact of the Amazon effect.

“Amazon's suicide pricing will (if unchecked) destroy our industry exactly like they destroyed the retail industry.”

For this, and other thoughtful comments, we humbly thank you.

Others aren't quite so … helpful. For example: “Omg, who thinks up these dumb questions.”

Again, that would be the HME News editors, all two of us.

Several commenters stated the obvious. For example: “Sorry to wake you. But, Amazon already sells DME, so does Walmart and Walgreens.”

Yes, thank you, we are aware of that.

However, it cannot be overlooked that news reports that Amazon has applied for various licensure in more than a dozen states could be the harbinger of bad things to come. Bad things like depressed cash pricing, which could then lead to further depressed pricing in the third party payer market. And an increase in annoying price shopping customers who expect the local DME to match Amazon pricing, an impossibility when the Amazon model is to sell at a loss. Potential health risks for certain consumers.

Plus, it's just always a good idea to check in with our provider readers on what's happening out there.

So yeah, sometimes the poll is “Omg dumb.” Sometimes the cartoon (which we are also tasked with) is hard to decipher. In posting the January issue to our website this afternoon (yep, do that, too), I read a headline that made me cringe, but seemed logical at the time we went to press (sorry about that, CareCentrix).

Thanks for reading HME News, dear readers and have a Happy New Year!