Survey: Cost of doing business puts pressure on providers
By HME News Staff
Updated 9:40 AM CDT, Thu May 12, 2022
WATERLOO, Iowa – The cost of delivering home medical equipment continues to rise, according to the results of a new survey from VGM & Associates.
The survey of nearly 100 HME providers in eight regions of the U.S. looked at the increase in cost of goods, employee wages and freight, as well as cost of delivery per mile, PPE and average wages.
“While I suspected the various costs and related factors in securing appropriate HME delivery services would increase – as compared to our previous two surveys – I underestimated the cumulative pressures on the business operations of these companies,” said Mark Higley, vice president of regulatory affairs for VGM Government. “I anticipated the higher vehicle expenses (due to the large fuel increases) but was rather stunned by the array of ancillary demands (e.g., supply chain, surcharges, freight, overtime, etc.) facing these most critical organizations serving the most cost-effective patient population.”
The data is grouped by region and broken out by company size. In the Rocky Mountain region, for example, the cost of delivery vehicle per mile was $0.84 for companies with more than 50 employees, an increase of 31% since 2021; $1.17 for companies with 11-50 employees, an increase of 180%; and $1.40 for companies with one to 10 employees, an increase of more than 200%.
This year’s survey also asked respondents to rate supply chain shortages. In the Rocky Mountain region, small companies rated the issue 100% critical.
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