No Crystal Ball Necessary

Where’s Carnac the Magnificent when you need him? If he were around, the late-night seer (courtesy of TV host Johnny Carson) might be able to answer the question that everybody in this industry is asking: What’s in the cards for HME?

They’re asking, because the industry certainly is going to change.

I’m not talking about the possibility of a CPI freeze on DME, or about competitive bidding or even about the mandate for provider accreditation that Congress is currently considering (and may have determined by the time you read this column). It’s a given that any one of those measures, if enacted, will have a significant impact on the way providers conduct their business.

The changes I mean don’t have anything to do with Medicare reform legislation. Instead, they concern the growth this industry will experience as our nation’s population ages.

I’m talking about seniors who want to remain independent and mobile. I’m talking about patients’ increasingly vocal desire to receive care at home instead of remaining in hospitals or entering long-term care facilities. I’m talking about the urgent need for quality, low-cost alternatives to expensive institutional care.

I’m talking about informed consumers, who know their health care options. I’m talking about baby boomers, many of whom already are caring for elderly parents at home and are only a few years away from needing HME services themselves. I’m talking about new products and technologies that are enabling better home care than ever and are expanding its role in the health care continuum.

In this month’s issue alone, Washington insider Cara Bachenheimer speaks out on beneficiaries’ increased use of Medicare-reimbursed motorized wheelchairs (page 58). ACHC’s Tom Cesar notes consumer demand for quality services (page 61). And within the pages of our annual reimbursement survey, consultant Miriam Lieber wonders how some providers can stay afloat if they don’t rethink the way their businesses are put together to meet market-based changes (page 22).

There’s a lot to consider when pondering the future of HME — and the future of your business — based on such positive factors. None of us has a crystal ball. But if Carnac were touching the envelope to his turban, his answer surely would be: “The future looks bright for HME.”

It’s clear that someone, somewhere, in some way, will serve our country’s increasing needs in home health care despite any changes Congress may legislate. The question, it seems, is whether your business will meet the industry’s coming challenges to take advantage of HME’s growing promise.