Waking Up to Bed System Sales

Manufacturers of beds and support surfaces have slept easily over the years, but they're about to face a wake-up call. New FDA guidelines for reduced entrapment and cutbacks in Medicare reimbursement expected early next year look to shake up this normally cozy market — known as the “bread and butter” for many DME providers.

Traditionally, the market for home care beds has enjoyed steady, predictable growth. “After respiratory, bed rentals represent the next largest revenue source to most dealers,” says Mike Norby, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Graham-Field.

Support surfaces, too, have proffered lucrative opportunity, which has increased as suppliers learn more about the role these products play in the care of bedridden patients.

“Everybody puts emphasis on the bed, and it should be highly emphasized,” says Norby. “But what a lot of folks forget about is the mattress. Prevention [of pressure sores] is the name of the game both in long-term care and in home care,” he continues. “It's our feeling that every bed that goes out into either market should at least be a pressure-reducing mattress because everyone that's confined to a bed is highly susceptible to pressure sores.”

While he notes that a “good” pressure-reducing mattress can cost more than twice as much as a standard mattress, Norby says that some technologically advanced products on the market now — which monitor and control pressure in certain parts of the mattress — can optimize pressure relief for high-risk patients. This specialized area is a natural expansion opportunity for providers, he says.

“The [therapeutic support surfaces] market is really taking off,” agrees Mike Irvine, product manager for beds at Invacare. “There are a couple of different technologies out there, but overall those haven't changed dramatically. I think what's changed among dealers is an increase in knowledge about these products, how to apply them and how to get the reimbursement they're due.”

Experts also attribute growth in the beds and support surfaces market to the country's large aging population. “People are living longer with more debilitating diseases, and people are lying down for a longer period of time,” says Gregg Garland, vice president of wound care sales for The Roho Group and former owner of AirCare Therapy.