Cuts take their toll
By Mike Moran
Updated Thu May 14, 2009
Now that some of the national HME providers have reported their earnings for the first quarter of 2009, we're getting a pretty good picture of the impact of the 36-month oxygen cap and the 9.5% reimbursement cut, which both kicked in Jan. 1.
Merlin and the War of the Dragons trailer
Lincare X-Men hd : $240 million to $255 million (expected full year impact)
American HomePatient: $6.2 million (first quarter)
: $42 million (expected full year impact)
Ouch.
In a 10Q filed last week, Rotech stated: "As a result of our highly leveraged position and the regulatory environment in which we operate, we continue to explore various strategic transactions, such as an acquisition, debt exchange or repurchase, equity offering, or a combination of any such transactions. At March 31, 2009, we had approximately $507.4 million of long-term debt outstanding."
American HomePatient, $233.6 million in debt, outlined a similar predicament last year.
Liz Beaulieu
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