Home Care Medical can't afford inefficient

NEW BERLIN, Wis. - Six months into her new position, Ann Fabry has been laser focused on two things: growing Home Care Medical's lines of non-bid products and improving its efficiencies. The CFO and vice president of finance spoke with HME News about why every dollar counts. 

HME News: You previously worked in the insurance industry. What brought you to HME?

Ann Fabry: I'm an accountant, a CPA, by trade. I was looking for a position in a company that was less focused on its stock price, and one that I felt I could contribute and make a difference at. You can see and hear from patients what a difference our products are making in their lives.

HME: Can you share some of your plans to help Home Care Medical grow?

Fabry: We're looking at opportunities related to products that aren't part of competitive bidding, like expanding our infusion line. We also have a very large and high-quality ventilator program, so we are looking at that. A year ago, we expanded with a third retail location, so we're trying to expand all locations.

HME: What are some of your other priorities?

Fabry: Probably the biggest is increasing our collections and reducing DSO. Certainly our A/R collections have gotten more challenging. We haven't done as well as we'd like in the last couple years, so we want to make some improvements there.

HME: Why is efficiency so critical?

Fabry: Margins really have shrunk considerably for all payers, not just Medicare. It's more difficult to collect and keep the reimbursement you've earned. Every dollar counts. You have to tackle it from all sides—staffing, collections, deliveries and receivables collection— and keep up with the challenges of documentation requirements and having enough cash on hand to withstand the cash flow challenges that come with audits.