Dan Meuser grew up in the HME business and has been involved with Pride Mobility Products Corp. in an official capacity for more than 18 years. But it is his active leadership and extensive lobbying efforts with both CMS and Congress that caught the HomeCaring Award^® judges' attention.

“He clearly invests time and energy in making sure influential members of Congress and key policy-makers at CMS understand the industry's position and the need to work in an open manner to ensure the best outcomes for America's elderly and disabled,” an award nomination letter reads.

Meuser's vocal support of the power mobility sector in educational efforts with CMS helped lead to the development of more functional coverage criteria for mobility assistive equipment. And he worked continuously to garner support in Congress for appropriate implementation of the new power mobility device codes and fee schedules.

Meuser was also a champion last year for the industry's Hobson-Tanner bill (H.R. 3559), which was intended to ease the effects of competitive bidding, and sent one of Pride's employees on a nationwide tour to enlist support for the legislation.

When Meuser met Mike Leavitt, he reminded the HHS secretary of a statement Leavitt had made that home care is “radically” more efficient than other means of care.

“It is,” Meuser says. “That motivates me to work to change our image and to make payers feel justified in the level of expenditures for power mobility products in particular, and HME as a whole. That's a big hill to climb, but we're getting there.”

Improving the HME industry's image in the eyes of regulators is another of Meuser's key concerns. Legislators, he says, are beginning to understand the importance of home care to beneficiaries and taxpayers. And though CMS hasn't yet completely grasped that whole concept, “we're working on them,” he adds.

A Cornell alum who attended the university on a U.S. Navy ROTC scholarship, Meuser contemplated a career in the Navy or on Wall Street before beginning work alongside his family at Pride.

“Once I got into the industry, I saw that it was just an absolutely terrific business to be in … You deal with good people — entrepreneurs — people who have a stake in things, and you're manufacturing products and providing services, [which] we refer to as the second dividend. It's very rewarding knowing what we deliver makes such a difference in people's lives.”

One of the accomplishments Meuser, who today serves as president of Pride USA, is most proud of is Pride's implementation of quality standards. In recent years, the company has developed a quality discipline, incorporating principles ranging from those of Six Sigma and the International Standards Organization to Food and Drug Administration standards. “It's made a big difference here, and in what we're delivering to our customers,” he says.

Meuser mentions another achievement: For the fourth consecutive year, Pride has been named one of the best places to work in Pennsylvania, ranked 17th in 2006 by the state's Department of Community and Economic Development, and No. 1 in northeastern Pennsylvania. Companies are judged on a variety of criteria, including employee benefits and safety.

In the end, for Meuser, “it's entirely about people.” That includes Pride's employees, its customers and the people who use its products.

It's about hearing a therapist say their client loves a product, so that “you know you're doing something right,” or getting a letter from parents explaining that, because of a Pride product, their son can now go outside and spend time with his friends.

“Those are the rewards,” Meuser says.

Chosen from nominations sent in by readers, HomeCare's HomeCaring Awards^® are presented in recognition of distinguished service to the home medical equipment industry. HomeCare is proud to acknowledge the talent, dedication and generous spirit of those who make the HME community a better place, and who demonstrate the caring that HME is all about.