Author

Wallace Weeks

  • Surety Bond

    Bulk Purchasing to Cut Costs

    In a near-unanimous response, 92 percent of the home medical equipment providers surveyed for HomeCare’s 2004 Forecast (December 2003) said they intend to cut their costs this year. That is fantastic, because cutting costs is a requirement for the new era this industry has entered with passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Act. Nearly all of the cost-cutting methods providers reported, however, were centered on buying practices. For example, 47 percent of providers said they plan to buy products in bulk. But in spite of the old adage that declares, “You make your money when you buy, not when you sell,” buying in bulk may not produce the result providers desire. There are a few important facts to consider before embarking on bulk purchasing practices....

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  • Legislation & Regulation

    How Bad Is It, Really?

    Is the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 better or worse than we expected? How will it affect your company? Our lawyer friends would answer, “It depends.” There are some effects that we can quantify and that prove the lawyers’ answer right. For example, 13 million seniors not previously covered will get prescription drug coverage. Retail pharmacies will register a net increase in sales of about $12 billion in 2004 — a 6 percent jump that will grow at 13 percent per year. So, is it all bad if your company is a pharmacy or a combination pharmacy and durable medical equipment provider? Out-of-pocket spending for drugs by seniors is currently about $11 billion per year. Seniors will reallocate some of that...

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  • Operations

    The Outlook for HME: 2004-2008

    Based on a report presented at Medtrade 2003 by Wallace Weeks of The Weeks Group, the following summary looks ahead to market growth, competition and other factors that will affect the HME industry from 2004 to 2008. While the report was prepared before Congress’ passage of a Medicare reform bill that includes competitive bidding and reimbursement cuts within this period, the good news, according to Weeks, is that the industry has plenty to be optimistic about. To put the long-range preview in perspective, Weeks first highlights the “wide-angle” view, which is an overview of what the industry may go through in the next five years. The “telephoto” view zooms in on specific segments of the industry to examine the results we could see by 2008....

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