John Quinlan: ‘It’s important they know what we do’

WAYLAND, N.Y. – John Quinlan, president of the Northeast Medical Equipment Providers Association, has been named chairman of AAHomecare’s State Leaders Council, giving him a larger platform to advocate for an industry he’s been passionate about since he was a young boy delivering prescriptions on bicycle for his father’s pharmacy.  

“It's been very much a passion for me to take care of (association) members, make sure we're fairly reimbursed and let everyone know what we do,” said Quinlan, owner of Quinlan’s Pharmacy & Medical Equipment in Wayland, N.Y. “Officials, Medicaid departments – you name it, I think it’s important that they know what we do and that was heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Quinlan spoke with HME News recently about his new role and the power of advocacy, including a recent CPAP-related win in New York. 

HME News: Tell me about the State Leaders Council. 

John Quinlan: Our job is to work with all the states and stakeholders, (including) manufacturers and other industry advocates. As the insurers merge and become bigger and bigger with health systems, it's important that we work together to see things from a state level and communicate through the council. Whatever the state association or health plans, it's important we all come together as one voice and not just say, this is the individual state’s issue.  

HME: AAHomecare is in the process of setting strategic priorities for the next few years. Are you looking forward to digging into that? 

Quinlan: I am. I think it has to come from the perspective of smaller or mid-size regionals, and yes, some larger nationals, but being really big sometimes you lose that touch. So, with a great group of executives, I think it'll be important to look at a lot of things and make sure that we're looking out for who our customer is as an industry.  

HME: You’ve seen some wins at the state level that highlight the importance of collaboration. What’s your elevator pitch to providers who aren’t helping to advance their and the industry’s causes? 

Quinlan: We need to be better at announcing those wins to drive membership. In New York, for example, we were able to unbundle CPAP supplies from the initial CPAP and that was huge. That was a combination of David Chandler and the AAHomecare payer relations team and our team at NEMEP.  That’s a big win for any provider and that's why I would say there’s strength in numbers. An association allows you to do that; it allows you to network and find a solution.