Up in the Air

The number of Americans with asthma and allergies continues to grow. Statistics from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology show that more than 20 million Americans suffer from asthma and 20 percent of the population has allergies, making this segment of health care increasingly costly.

Yet, the home medical equipment industry continues to explore its role in this growing market. Provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) have created uncertainties for providers of aerosol therapy — an important treatment component for asthma and allergy — leaving many to decide whether it makes sense to pursue these opportunities. On the other hand, at press time, Medicare had proposed a service-cost component for inhalation drug reimbursements, and is also planning to cover metered dose inhalers (MDIs) in 2006 as part of its “Part D” prescription drug benefit.

The Numbers Are There

Regardless, the sheer size of the market should pique interest, along with a reimbursement mix that includes managed care, Medicaid and Medicare — an attractive diversification for many providers.

“We have not seen any indication that it is slowing down,” says Rich Kocinski, senior vice president and general manager, Sunrise Medical/DeVilbiss Respiratory Group. “Obviously, reimbursement is an important issue, but [asthma and allergy] is still a very attractive market.”

Some experts say providers must concentrate on asthma and allergy primarily so they can offer a full range of respiratory care products and services to satisfy physician needs and managed care contract requirements. Kocinski says when companies are looking to expand their respiratory businesses they typically are referring to oxygen; however, aerosol delivery most often is part of the whole respiratory package.

“Referral sources want to deal with full-line respiratory providers, so it is very difficult to cherry-pick oxygen and stay away from everything else,” he explains.

Offering a complete spectrum of respiratory care services that includes asthma and allergy gives local and regional providers an opportunity to compete with large national companies, according to Rich Rosenthal, director of sales and marketing for Ferraris Respiratory.