Kevin Henning: 'You have to find answers’ 

AMES, Iowa – Retiring provider Kevin Henning looks back at 22 years of owning and building Choice Medical, including how his background as an electrical engineer prepared him for the ups and downs of the HME industry. 

HME News: What’s been the biggest challenge faced by providers, especially independents, over the years? 

Kevin Henning: It’s probably been the insurance companies. They've kept cutting reimbursement, and as an independent, we don't have the buying power, so the profit margin is a lot less. They've squeezed out a lot of the independents. The barrier to entry is just horrific. 

HME: How has health care evolved over the last 22 years? 

Henning: Most people don't know anything about DME until they need it, then they find out we're here. So, to me, the biggest evolution has been the education of the customer base. It’s been very hard for them in the sense that insurance keeps changing. Our biggest challenge has always been, somebody calls and they don't know their own insurance, which is fine. You buy a policy, and you just think you're covered, but Medicare didn't give you the full answer. 

HME: What has been your biggest accomplishment? 

Henning: Starting up a company and jumping through all the hoops the government puts in front of you to help people is a pretty big one. But I think the bigger accomplishment was overcoming challenges every day. Sometimes people ask, why didn't you use your electrical engineering degree? And I point out that I use it all the time, because there’s no textbook that tells you how to get answers. And that's what engineering has taught me: You have to find answers, figure it out and make things work.