Through a lot

It’s a tradition for me to use my editorial in the upcoming January issue to discuss the most read stories in the HME industry for the previous year. 

Here is what the list looks like for 2024: 

ResMed on mask recall, big tech and demand gen 
Oxygen bill introduced in House 
Catheter proposal is huge step forward 
Owens & Minor to buy Rotech 
Philips exit: ‘Nothing fazes us anymore’ 
Change Healthcare outage has scary impact on HME industry 
Providers: It never seems to really work out in our favor 
AdaptHealth looks to simplify 
Providers say Lincare allegations are ‘infuriating’ 
ResMed adds AirSense 11 to e-shop 

(Honorable mention: Providers on Helene’s front lines: ‘We are stretched thin but able to help’)

I have to say, this list is representative of an industry that has been through a lot. 

There’s the Philips recall, first initiated in June 2021, that still lingers in 2024 and beyond (Philips exit: ‘Nothing fazes us anymore’). A new capitated contract between Synapse Health and UnitedHealthcare that continues a trend that started, at least on a bigger scale, with AdaptHealth and Humana in 2023 (Providers: ‘It never seems to really work out in our favor’). A cyberattack at Change Healthcare that had a direct and immediate hit on the industry’s ability to submit claims and collect payment – for months and months (Change Healthcare outage has scary impact on HME industry). 

I feel like every year in the HME industry is eventful, but holy moly.  

But this list also offers glimmers of excitement, too. 

ResMed spent the better part of 2024 hyping up the power of new consumer wearable devices from Samsung and Apple to increase the patient funnel for CPAP therapy, and analysts, for the most part, are buying what the company is selling (ResMed on mask recall, big tech and demand gen). This, combined with the company also hyping up the impact of GLP-1 medications, helped to drive the company’s share price to a high of $256 in October. 
(I would be remiss if I didn’t also point out that a bigger patient funnel is, of course, also good news for providers, but they’re not happy with everything ResMed is up to these days (ResMed adds AirSense 11 to e-shop.)) 

Other glimmers of excitement include the winding down of a building year for AdaptHealth, which named several new execs in 2024, including CEO Suzanne Foster, and made several moves to better position the company in 2025, including jettisoning its complex rehab business and reviving its diabetes business (AdaptHealth looks to simplify). 

And Owens & Minor’s acquisition of Rotech Healthcare, also created excitement in the industry in so far as it’s a sign that a really lagging M&A market for HME might be warming up, which helps to draw more interest and dollars from investors (Owens & Minor to buy Rotech). Case in point: At press time for this issue, Nationwide Medical announced a growth investment from Heritage Group, a health-care focused private equity firm.  

As we look forward at 2025, I wouldn’t be surprised if Medicare Advantage squeezes itself onto this list. In many ways, this program has been a thorn in the sides of providers (and beneficiaries) for a few years now and with a Trump-controlled White House and a Republican-controlled Congress, it may well become a bigger and bigger part of their business by necessity. 

Stay tuned with us.