Mobility and More sticks with it

LOVELAND, Colo. – Mobility and More’s commitment to staying independent and openness to evolving has helped the company stay in business for 20 years, says Tab Black, business manager. 

When Black’s parents opened the company in 2004, it was one of more than a dozen HME companies serving its primary service area – the northeastern quadrant of Colorado. Today, it’s the only wholly locally owned and operated company in that area, Black says. 

“We were approached multiple times about joining (another company) or selling,” said Black, who uses a wheelchair and who previously worked for Quickie Wheelchair. “We’ve stuck to our guns. Our business plan has changed 15 times over the years, but here we still are.” 

Today, Mobility and More primarily serves Longmont, Greeley, Fort Collins and Loveland, Colo., as well as Cheyenne, Wyo., and all points in between. 

The company has had to evolve over the years, responding to market pressures like Medicare’s national competitive bidding program. The program was a big reason behind its decision to narrow its focus, particularly on complex power wheelchairs, which are exempt. 

“(Competitive bidding) was a train crash,” Black said. “We’re north of Denver, which isn’t considered rural, so we had to comply with non-rural reimbursement, but everyone here knows it is rural.” 

Then there’s the fact that Colorado was one of the first states to pass a right-to-repair bill. 

“That hasn’t been successful – I understand that three people have called manufacturers over the last year for parts to do repairs themselves,” Black said. “Everything we sell, we repair, but we also know what the reimbursement is. We try to bundle service trips, which can take longer, or we tell them if they can come to us, we’ll take care of them now.” 

Mobility and More has also evolved to rely less on Medicare and Medicaid – Black estimates that side of the business has gone down at least 20% over the years – and more on Veterans Affairs, particularly in Cheyenne, and cash pay. 

“Our VA work includes repairs, setups, deliveries and installs,” he said. 

But Mobility and More has stayed the same in one other way: It’s still a family-run business. Kyleen Black, Tab Black’s mom, who was the company’s president since the start, passed away in 2019, but Tom Black, his dad, still comes in on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

“At one point, it was only family (running the company), but now we’re family-plus,” Black said.