topic

Providers

News about HME providers and homecare companies, including expansions, acquisitions and business milestones.

  • HME Providers Move into Wal-Mart

    On March 17, Lake Forest, Calif.-based Apria Healthcare opened a pilot store inside a Duncanville (Dallas), Texas, Wal-Mart. The Scooter Store, New Braunfels, Texas, is running branches in Wal-Marts in Montgomery, Ala.; Daytona Beach and Pensacola, Fla.; Hendersonville, N.C.; and Fort Worth, Texas. Salem, Mass., provider Hutchinson Medical has opened two branches inside Wal-Marts in Epping, N.H., and Waterford, Conn. And Lawrenceville, Ga.-headquartered National Vision Inc., which operates 400 eye care centers in Wal-Mart stores in the United States and Mexico, will open one or more HME test stores inside the world’s largest retailer in the second quarter. All of these companies hope to capitalize on Wal-Mart’s astronomical foot traffic. Worldwide, more than 138 million customers walk into the mass merchandiser every week. Its U.S….
    Read More →: HME Providers Move into Wal-Mart

  • View from the Top

    2003’s Top Providers Gather Strength to Keep Climbing   As HME ascends the face of a politically insecure future, revenues and new market potentials remain strong. In 2003, most companies, large and small, reported peak sales, but as Washington winds up to cut reimbursements more deeply, the positive outlook is not universal. HME businesses will have to retrain themselves, like finely tuned athletes, to beat credibility issues on Capitol Hill and deal with new requirements mandated by the Medicare Modernization Act. But the numbers in HomeCare‘s Top Companies listings speak for themselves. The market is out there. The climb may be harrowing — but that much more worthwhile — in the years ahead.   Winning in the Field, Losing on the Hill   By Tom…
    Read More →: View from the Top

  • AHIP Announces New Name, Agenda

    The recently merged American Association of Health Plans-Health Insurance Association of America has announced a new name, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), and released an updated policy agenda. The group said it will promote access to affordable, quality health care through measures intended to parlay medical research into treatments and to make health payments more commensurate with health care performance. AHIP’s members provide health insurance to more than 200 million people. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.
    Read More →: AHIP Announces New Name, Agenda

  • Providers Support PWC Pre-Approval Process

    Baltimore At a March 3 Open Door Forum on Medicare’s power wheelchair benefit, several mobility providers supported an idea proposed to CMS: a pre-approval process for K0011 claims. One provider advised the agency to “institute a 100-percent, pre-delivery approval of the equipment before the dealer purchases it, delivers it and has to fight you for it. If it’s a legitimate, valid claim, tell us up front. Nobody wants to process a claim that’s not good.” For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.
    Read More →: Providers Support PWC Pre-Approval Process

  • Provider News

    WHI to Provide Home Care Services for United HealthCare Deerfield, Ill. In February, Walgreens Health Initiatives, through Walgreens Home Care Inc., began serving United HealthCare Insurance Co., one of the country’s largest managed care organizations. WHI will provide home care services, infusion, HME and respiratory services, including respiratory medication, to all United HealthCare plans and participating affiliates. WHI, a division of Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain with 4,290 stores, currently operates accredited home care facilities in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, Texas and Wisconsin, and will initially serve United HealthCare members in these states. SHMS to Acquire We Care Medical Boca Raton, Fla. Specialized Home Medical Services (SHMS) will acquire We Care Medical, a Michigan DME provider, for an undisclosed sum. According to…
    Read More →: Provider News

  • Manufacturer News

    Invacare Acquires Infusion Therapy Distributor Elyria, Ohio Invacare has acquired the assets of ACS, a Deer Park, N.Y.-based division of Mediq PRN Life Support Services, which distributes medical supplies with a focus on infusion therapy. ACS will be combined with Invacare Supply Group’s current distribution business, headquartered in Holliston, Mass., and ACS’ sales and customer service personnel will be employed by ISG. The company’s distribution system will be consolidated into ISG over the next several months. ResMed Launches Sleep Apnea Web Site San Diego ResMed has launched www.myresmed.com, a sleep-apnea treatment support Web site for people who use positive airway pressure devices. “MYResMed provides a free service to help dealers and sleep clinicians orient, educate and support new CPAP users. That’s the way to help…
    Read More →: Manufacturer News

  • Industry Newsmakers

    Louis Feuer has joined The VGM Group as educational adviser. Feuer will work with Sara Bauer, VGM director of education, to provide sales and marketing information to VGM group members; serve as curriculum adviser to VGM U, the group’s online HME university; and offer a new program called “HME Express Orientation,” a four-module course for newcomers to the industry. Feuer, a monthly columnist for HomeCare, will continue to operate his Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based business, Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. Aaron J. Kozloski has joined the Greenville, S.C.-based Health Law Center as senior counsel, and will run the firm’s new offices in Columbia, S.C. Kozloski was most recently general counsel and chief lobbyist for the South Carolina Medical Association and previously has served as administrator for…
    Read More →: Industry Newsmakers

  • Building on Success

    When Sandra and James Hoskin were leasing a small retail space in front of a Houston hotel in 1987, their landlord evicted them. He was selling the property to a buyer who needed the space. Vowing never to lease again, the co-owners of American Medical Equipment soon began property-hunting. This was the late ’80s, when “real estate wasn’t moving at all,” Sandra recalls. But the stale market ultimately worked to the couple’s advantage when they found a rundown piece of real estate — with enormous potential. “The owner really wanted to get rid of it,” Sandra says, adding that he actually dropped the price $100,000 and was willing to finance the purchase himself. The area had trash on the streets and relatively light traffic, “but…
    Read More →: Building on Success

  • Medtrade Spring Planner

    In the spring, the HME industry’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of … Vegas, baby! Medtrade Spring 2004 gets under way March 16-18, with a host of products you need to see and information you need to know to sail your business safely through challenging times. The expo and buying event offers 75 educational sessions and 450 exhibitors at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show provides an informal opportunity to connect with HME peers and learn the tools necessary to survive the imminent changes brought on by recent Medicare legislation. But Medtrade isn’t all business. On the following pages, you’ll find important schedules and hip post-show activities to help cool your heels after a long day on the show floor. Monorail Step outside the…
    Read More →: Medtrade Spring Planner

  • Walgreens Health Initiatives Acquires All-Care

    Deerfield, Ill. Walgreens Health Initiatives, through Walgreens Home Care Inc., has acquired selected assets of All Care Medical Supply and Interactive Cardio Pulmonary Inc. (together doing business as “All-Care”), effective Jan. 6. All-Care, a home medical equipment, respiratory and infusion services business, has provided services to patients in Daytona Beach, Okeechobee and Stuart, Fla., for the past decade. WHI, which is operated by Walgreens Co., the nation’s largest drugstore chain, currently operates other accredited home care facilities in Florida, as well as in Arizona, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin. According to the company, its expansion into home care will continue in these states as well as others. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.
    Read More →: Walgreens Health Initiatives Acquires All-Care

  • Redefining Rehab: New Rehab Coalition Forms

    An independent coalition of advocates has formed to address specific issues in the home medical equipment industry’s high-end rehabilitation sector. The National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology (NCART) will provide highly focused attention to the needs of suppliers and manufacturers who concentrate primarily on dealing in high-end rehab and assistive technology products. Based in Washington, D.C., the new organization was, at press time, scheduled to be operational in early February, according to Rita Hostak, vice president of government relations for Sunrise Medical, Longmont, Colo. Hostak will serve as NCART president and chairman of the board. “This is a critical time for rehab and assistive technology companies,” says Hostak. “There must be a concentrated effort in order to ensure access to the technology and services…
    Read More →: Redefining Rehab: New Rehab Coalition Forms

  • AmeriCare Partners with Trinity System Hospital

    Troy, Mich. Americare has entered into an agreement with St. Joseph Mercy, Macomb, a Trinity System hospital in Michigan, to provide respiratory and other health care-related management services to its discharged patients. “Home care companies must offer more than the typical routine products and services to compete,” the company said. AmeriCare President Greg Jamian pointed out that “as hospitals look to further cut cost, they are considering outsourcing operations that experienced, quality vendors can provide at a much lower price.” Company revenues for 2004 are expected to climb to $11.3 million. For breaking news, go to www.homecaremonday.com, the electronic news service of the home medical equipment industry.
    Read More →: AmeriCare Partners with Trinity System Hospital

OUR DIGITAL PARTNERS

trending

From Our Partners