Providers say Lincare allegations are ‘infuriating’

YARMOUTH, Maine – Providers still bruised by the Philips recall say allegations that Lincare received 20,000 replacement CPAP devices and then turned around and used them for new patients instead of existing patients adds insult to injury. 

The allegations were published by ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization, in a Nov. 13 article. 

“During a time when the rest of us were drowning and Philips couldn’t give us any machines, Lincare capitalized on that by selling (the replacement devices),” said Jason Jones, president of Troy, Ala.-based Jones Medical Supply. “Also, the recall was disastrous for us and to know that Philips had devices and (gave them to) one company was just infuriating.” 

The recall, which Philips initiated in June 2021 for certain respiratory devices, including its popular DreamStation, collided with the COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain constraints, creating a perfect storm of challenges for providers trying to access products to care for both existing and new patients. 

Great lengths 

Providers were reliant on Philips to provide replacement devices, a process that they say was painstakingly slow for smaller companies. Jones Medical Supply took matters into its own hands where it could, processing replacements themselves. 

“There was the option of letting Philips handle it but that took a long time to get to us small companies,” Jones said. “My reps told me if you take it on yourself, you’ll get machines quicker, but only a $25 credit to do the work. We processed all of our replacements in house. It was a lot of extra hours and all hand on deck to get people taken care of. We processed 1,300 from one location.”   

‘Ethical dilemma’ 

Providers say they did what they could to serve both existing and new patients. Provider Woody O’Neal says he spent $250,000 to import FDA-cleared CPAP devices from China to take care of displaced Philips patients, as well as new patients on a six-month waiting list. 

“We were having frank one-on-one conversations with physicians wondering whether or not they should continue even diagnosing sleep apnea because there was no treatment,” said O’Neal, vice president of O’Neal Medical in Pelham, Ala. “The ethical dilemma was, ‘Do we continue to try to treat new patients, or do we try to resolve a known FDA recall issue?’ To triage these two cohorts, we filled orders based on the date we received the Rx from the prescriber. This allowed my employees to not have to decide who was served first and avoid clinically-based conflicts.” 

Like O’Neal, provider Tyler Riddle turned to an overseas manufacturer for CPAP devices to continue serving new patients, spending $500,000. 

“Which I feel is extra pertinent, as Lincare apparently used replacement machines from Philips to accomplish this same goal,” said Riddle, CEO of MRS Homecare in Tifton, Ga. 

Call out 

Provider Richard Spafford was so incensed he posted a YouTube video calling attention to the ProPublica article that has since received more than 21,000 views. He also forwarded the article to NBC News and his local news affiliates in western Massachusetts. 

“I’m shocked it isn’t gaining more traction,” said Spafford, president of USA Medical Supply in West Springfield, Mass. “The bottom line is, the 20,000 machines were supposed to be used for recalled machines.” 

‘Prioritized’ replacements 

Lincare didn’t respond to questions by press time. 

A Philips spokesperson told HME News that the company’s position “has always been, and remains, that all devices manufactured to address the recall in the United States are intended for affected patients only.” 

When it came to allocating replacement devices to providers, the spokesperson said: “To ensure patients with the greatest needs received a replacement device as timely as possible, Philips Respironics prioritized remediation efforts for certain patients as requested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the medical community. The process is outlined on our public information pages regarding patient registration for the recall.”