MATTHEWS, N.C. — With the start date for DMEPOS competitive bidding just weeks away, 356 contract holders in the nine Round 1 competitive bidding areas are ramping up for an influx of customers — and they're doing it in different ways.
Some are adding trucks, beefing up inventory, installing new technology and/or hiring people. Frank Trammell, CEO and president of Carolina's Home Medical Equipment in Matthews, N.C., is holding tight.
Trammell, whose seven-year-old company won four contracts — oxygen, CPAP, power wheelchairs and walkers — in the Charlotte CBA has done what he's going to do, at least until he sees competitive bidding in action, he said.
"I'm not going to add locations and there's no need to add trucks," he said. "I'm playing it close to the vest right now. I'm waiting until I see the whites of its eyes. I've been telling my people all year that this is a practice year for next year," Trammell continued, "so we have been refining our practices and we're pretty darn efficient … I think we're ready."
Earlier this year, he expanded the company's showroom to 3,000 square feet and converted to a program that e-mails or auto dials patients about supplies "instead of our normal friendly real person calling." The larger location allows room for growth, Trammell said, and he is looking for another customer service representative. Other than that, he wants to wait to see what happens.
Trammell, who was also a bid winner in the original Round 1, which Congress aborted in July 2008, said that judging from his fellow contract holders in the Charlotte area, he anticipates modest growth in three of the four categories for which he accepted contracts. Carolina's HME should be able to handle that growth, he said.
However, his CPAP business could be another matter. There are thousands of Medicare beneficiaries in the CBA whose machines have capped out, Trammell said, and come Jan. 1, it is likely the providers they are accustomed to dealing with will not be able to serve them.
"A lot of the big guys in town did not win CPAP bids," he said, adding that he anticipates many of those beneficiaries will be contacting Carolina's HME. "I think the CPAP [business] is going to increase a little faster. It's OK. We can gear up for it."
Still, he is not stocking up. "I get calls from CPAP suppliers saying, 'Don't you need to put in a humongous order right now?' Well, maybe, but I'm not."
He doesn't see the point in stockpiling inventory until it is necessary. "They can get it to me in 24 hours," he said. "We will have to react fast, but we're pretty good at adapting."
Even bolstering his fleet isn't a problem, Trammell said. "I've got some delivery technicians' resumes on file. I can buy a van in an hour and have it lettered the next day, so it's not going to take us a long time to rock and roll. That's what it means to be a small, local, family-run company. It doesn't take long to get the board together."
While he's never been in favor of competitive bidding and has worked for its elimination, he now believes it's too late in the day for a delay.
"Let's just get on with it," Trammell said. "Let's just see if it's going to work. If we delay it, what we do is create an opportunity for someone to figure out how to do it better. Let's just watch it crash and burn."
He has no doubt the CMS system will do just that. And if it does, he will have no regrets about his company's preparations.
"I would love it to go away," Trammell said about competitive bidding. "But if it does go away, it's not been in vain. I think it's made us a far better company."
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