HME News

MAR 2018

HME News is the monthly business newspaper for home medical equipment providers. This controlled circulation publication reaches 17,100 home medical equipment services providers, including traditional HME dealers & suppliers, hospital- and pharmacy-o

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VOLUME 24 — NUMBER 3 MARCH 2018 $7.00 HME NEWS POLL ■ What is the 'new normal' for providers? Find out at Medtrade Spring, says Ty Bello. See page 20. ■ Product Spotlight: This month we feature bariatric products like the 6Runner 14 from Shoprider Mobility Products. See page 19. ■ Has the fi rst year of a Trump administration had a positive impact on your business? See results on page 23. N E W S ■ Stakeholders unrelenting on IFR. PAGE 4 ■ AAHomecare sets sights on 'sideliners.' PAGE 4 ■ An appeal for common 'sense.' PAGE 4 D E PA RT M E N T S PROVIDERS ■ StateServ, Hospicelink merge. PAGE 13 ■ Seventh Street Medical steps up. PAGE 13 MOBILITY ■ Numotion tightens timeline. PAGE 15 ■ Rehab Medical thrives as regional. PAGE 15 RX & SPECIALTY PROVIDERS ■ Congress passes infusion fi x. PAGE 17 ■ Alliance aims to connect sleep community. PAGE 17 VENDORS ■ Ki Mobility packs one-two punch. PAGE 21 ■ SoClean, so global. PAGE 21 W W W . H M E N E W S . C O M Stakeholders seek ally in new HHS secretary CRT conference highlights consumers 2018 will be 'huge' for M&A; Vents: RACs join party Go Baby Go Permobil and the Permobil Foundation on Jan. 18 hosted and sponsored students and researchers from Vanderbilt University, Belmont University and Power of Play to modify battery-powered ride-on cars for children with mobility impairments. The event was part of the Go Baby Go program to improve their day-to-day lifestyles. C O M M E N TA RY ■ Signifi cant progress has been made on several fronts in the effort to get coverage for seat elevation, says Seth Johnson of Pride Mobility. PAGE 8 BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor WASHINGTON – The ink is barely dry on his confi rmation papers, but industry stake- holders are ready to work with new Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. "We look forward to working with Sec- retary Azar to produce a sustainable reim- bursement environment for HME," said Tom Ryan, president and CEO of AAHomecare. "We're hopeful that he will work with the Offi ce of Management and Budget to get the interim fi nal rule, rolling back some of the cuts for rural providers, released soon. It's also critical that HHS and CMS work on fi xes for the competitive bid- ding program before the next bidding round goes into effect." The Senate confi rmed Azar Jan. 24 by a 55-43 vote. At his Jan. 9 con- firmation hearing, he told Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., he would be "happy" to work with the OMB to "quickly approve" an IFR that would provide relief BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor E XPECT TO see large regional HME players get bigger in the year ahead as they look to increase their market share, say M&A; analysts. "These regionals are really look- ing to grow their territory," said Brad Smith, managing director/ partner at Vertess. "I think 2018 is going to be a huge year." And that's building on a strong 2017. In the third quarter of last year, 18 transactions were com- BY LIZ BEAULIEU, Editor WASHINGTON – This year's National CRT Leadership & Advocacy Con- ference, hosted by NCART and NRRTS, will put consumers front and center like never before. BY THERESA FLAHERTY, Managing Editor WASHINGTON – The national recovery audit contractor for HME has set its sights on ven- tilators, but that's no big sur- prise, industry stakeholders say. The Medicare Administrative Contractors are already audit- ing vents, and the Office of Inspector General has includ- ed the product category in past work plans. "I think it's a no-brainer for the RACs to say, 'Hey, let's audit this, too,'" said Kim Brummett, vice president of regulatory affairs for AAHomecare. P e r f o r m a n t R e c o v e r y announced in January that it would perform widespread 'We just want to him to remember to come back with his commitment to Thune to look into the IFR' BUCKLE UP, BUTTERCUP pleted in the HME sector, the highest since 2014, accord- ing to The Braff Group. "I think both buyers and sell- ers are getting comfortable with where true valuations are," said Pat- rick Clifford, a managing director at The Braff Group. Particularly active among the regionals: QMES, AeroCare and StateServ Holdings, all of which received private equity fi nancing in 2017. They are being strategic, how- ever, say analysts. "You've got buyers like (Aero- Care CEO) Steve Griggs that are out there looking for special situ- ations," said Rick Glass, president of Steven Richards & Associates. "I don't see demand for broad- based companies coming back until we see some picking back up on the reimbursement front." The educational program for the event, April 25-26 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Va., will include a new panel session with consumers. "It will be part their personal sto- ries, part their experiences doing advocacy work and part their take on what manufacturers and provid- ers can do to better engage them," said Don Clayback, executive direc- tor of NCART. The panel of consumers will kick Bradley Smith H H S S E C A L E X A Z A R PA G E 6 M & A O U T L O O K F O R 2 0 1 8 PA G E 1 4 V E N T S H I T W I T H R A C A U D I T S PA G E 1 8 C O M P L E X R E H A B F LY I N PA G E 1 6 Bachenheimer T H E B U S I N E S S N E W S P A P E R F O R H O M E M E D I C A L E Q U I P M E N T P R O V I D E R S

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