Invacare: 'The future is good'
By Liz Beaulieu, Editor
Updated Thu May 24, 2012
During Invacare's earnings call in April, President and CEO Gerald Blouch also addressed:
Acquisitions
In a nutshell, Invacare officials, their hands full improving compliance, don't plan to make a move anytime soon. “It would have to be extraordinary for us to gamble on our remediation efforts, which we don't want to do,” Blouch said.
Competitive bidding
Invacare officials concede that getting rid of the program or replacing it with the industry's market-pricing program will be an “uphill battle,” mainly because CMS has its PR machine working overtime to promote the savings associated with the program. “We're working hard, and we're planning for the worst and hoping for the best,” Blouch said.
The role of HME
Despite uncertainty due to healthcare reform and competitive bidding, Blouch calls home care “one of the killers to the cost of health care.” “We'll get through those things,” he said. “The demographics are unassailably true and when you couple that with patient preferred and cost effective, it's going to be—and this is acknowledged by government officials—a pillar of the healthcare continuum. The future is good. How long it's going to take (to get there) is anyone's guess.”
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