Same Ol’ Same Ol’

30 years ago

As a spin-off of a publication called Rental Equipment Register, HomeCare magazine (then titled HomeCare Rental/Sales) shifted from bi-monthly to once-a-month frequency with only its second issue.

“I am very happy to see the home care people have a publication they can call their own,” wrote Joe C. Brown, manager of C&S Rents and Sales in Santa Ana, Calif., in a letter to the editor. “For many years we have had to share with the construction equipment firms and have gotten very little recognition. It is about time we have our own.”

But while HomeCare celebrated a warm welcome, the HME industry was facing problems with misrepresentation in the consumer press. In an article detailing providers’ opinions of the industry’s coverage, Robert Weneck, president-elect of the Rental Service Association, had this to say: “The only time the DME industry appears in print, it seems, is when there is a gripe or sob story — someone is being ripped off by high rental rates. There has to be more research done by the reporters writing these articles.”

Sound familiar?

20 years ago

With competitive bidding casting a long shadow over HME, many of the industry’s providers are recognizing the value of retail sales. Though retail markets may remain a new frontier for some, HomeCare tapped into the potential of retail 20 years ago with a 45-page analysis that profiled the best practices of successful HME retailers, including advertising and sales efforts, store location options and the importance of presentation and display.

10 years ago

Think Medicare fraud and abuse is a new development? Think again. Consider this letter to the editor from 1998’s February issue concerning a HomeCare report on fraud : “Unfortunately the label of fraud and abuse has become all-too-often used to describe our industry … It is fruitless to try to state our case to politicians who have no real interest in understanding our industry,” wrote Kenneth K. Preuss, president, Respiratory Services, Aurora, Colo.

Adding to the industry’s image woes, HomeCare noted an Office of Inspector General report that found 40 percent of HME providers participating in the Medicare program failed to meet all of its standards. The report, “Medical Equipment Suppliers: Assuring Legitimacy,” was based on the results of unannounced site inspections of 420 providers in California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas.

Officials with the National Association for Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAMES) responded favorably to the report, pointing out the organization had “long been urging the Health Care Financing Administration to adopt additional industry standards as a way of weeding out fraudulent providers.”

Also of interest in February 1988:

• The CPAP industry, involving the sale of approximately 12,000 devices per year, is targeted as a potential high-growth market, and scooters are expected to “steer [HME] profits” well into the future — all the way to 2000.

Also of interest in February 1998:

• Effects of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 — which mandated a 30 percent cut in oxygen reimbursement and a freeze on price increases until 2002 — are in full swing. Surprisingly, Lincare Holdings, one of the companies expected to be affected the most by the cuts, saw its stock prices reach record highs.