Heard at Heartland

WATERLOO, Iowa — Last week, close to a thousand members of
the HME industry gathered here for VGM Group’s ninth annual
Heartland Conference. While the group’s members were intent on
looking at new ways of doing business, they were also committed to
stopping CMS’ national
competitive bidding program.

The four-day event kicked off June 7 with the traditional hog
roast and fireworks display at VGM headquarters. Attendees also
were treated to a fairytale-like gala complete with horse-drawn
carriage rides and silver wands. But the social events were not the
reason why some 600 providers traveled to VGM’s hometown. The
comprehensive educational conference and the opportunity to meet
with the member service group’s 80 participating vendors were the
draw.

According to VGM CEO and Founder Van G. Miller, “The only
possible way that we can put on an event like this is because of
our membership and our participating manufacturers who stand behind
our group. That’s it.”

Here’s what several other attendees were thinking about:

Getting Eggs Out of the Medicare
Basket
“I took Louis Feuer’s course ‘Sophisticated Retail Sales.’ I
learned a lot, and he opened my eyes to a lot of great ideas and a
lot of areas we were not addressing. Now that I have seen that, I
see a lot of opportunities to make money and will go after some of
these ideas …

“We currently only do about five percent retail. The majority of
our eggs are in Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance, so the
cash market is where we are lacking. We are trying to bring that in
to pay for a lot of other programs that Medicaid and Medicare are
taking away.”

— Greg Atkins, ATP, Randolph Medical
Plus, St. Joseph, Mo.

Daunting Obstacles, Indomitable
Spirit
“The HME industry is not only a closely knit industry but is a very
warm and welcoming one. I spoke here as the keynote, and I feel
like I have been here nine years in a row … no matter if you
are from New York, Los Angeles or Waterloo, it seems like everybody
has the same mentality.

“The obstacles that the HME industry is facing are daunting to
say the least. I am just starting to learn about competitive
bidding and the other issues that are coming up and I am already
confused, so I can only imagine what folks that are immersed in the
industry are dealing with. But, if their tenacity is anything like
their personalities are, I think they will persevere past the
legislative changes that come and will keep taking care of patients
they way they have been.”

— Bill Klein, COO, Emerge Sales,
Bohemia, N.Y., and co-star of “The Little Couple”

You Can’t Be Stupid
“If you don’t know what you are going to do now in today’s
environment in this industry, you are in trouble. If you are not in
the diversification mode right now, you are behind the eight ball.
We are already looking at different ways to get away from
third-party payers and especially get away from Medicare and
Medicaid and start doing things that will take care of patients but
will help us with diversification and the bottom line …

“In today’s environment, you have to be aggressive, but you
can’t be stupid. And, you can’t be shy when it comes to
diversifying yourself and looking at different business
models.”

— Jeff Knight, owner, president and CEO,
Premier Home Care, Louisville, Ky.

Getting Rid of Competitive
Bidding
“The dedication of HME providers is as strong as it has ever been.
There is an excitement that we are going to be able to accomplish
our goals with H.R. 3790, and there is an optimism that I see in
everybody out there.”

— Ron Bendell, president, The VGM Group,
Waterloo, Iowa

Other highlights from Heartland 2010:

• A keynote address by Bill Klein, COO of Emerge Sales and
  co-star of The Learning Channel’s “The Little Couple,” shared his
  personal story of triumphs and challenges in negotiating
  accessibility as a little person in an average-sized world.
• The Heartland Home for Independent Living, an all-accessible
  home, was built across the street from the Five Sullivan Brothers
  Convention Center and was open for tours.
• Small group discussions during lunch June 8 offered an
  opportunity for providers to discuss current issues with conference
  speakers and industry experts.