Today’s home medical equipment providers are a hardy bunch, to say the least. Despite facing in 2002 an economy that was leveled alongside the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and in 2003 the looming threat of national competitive bidding for durable medical equipment and an inherent-reasonableness regulation, HME providers remain optimistic about the industry. According to HomeCare‘s annual Forecast Survey, HME providers continue to predict increased revenue for 2003. Of the 374 providers who responded to this year’s survey, only 3 percent expect their companies’ revenue to decrease, while 10 percent expect revenue to remain static, and a whopping 84 percent forecast increased revenue. Of those who predicted a revenue increase, more than one-third foresee an increase of between 6 percent and 10 percent, and...