Staying Ahead of the Curve

One predictor of success in the home care business is the ability to keep up with the changes and to look for opportunities in the challenges.

The Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Services (MAMES), which represents seven states in the Midwest, is working at both. Rose Schafhauser, a veteran in the home care and Medicare arena, is executive director of both MAMES and the Arizona Medical Equipment Suppliers Association (AMESA).

Schafhauser knows home care is not going away, given the demographics of aging. She notes that governors, in their annual state-of-the-state addresses, frequently trumpet the importance of getting people out of institutions and into home care. But finding the opportunities in the many challenges still requires creativity from HME providers. “How can we change the way we do business and look for new opportunities? We would be doing a disservice if we didn't do that.”

MAMES members continue to fight for sound Medicare policy, and they're also looking for ways to “live with the changes,” as Schafhauser puts it. But with respect to competitive bidding, one of the largest changes headed our way, Schafhauser has found that some providers are sticking their heads in the sand.

Beth Bowen sees a similar pattern as executive director of the North Carolina Association for Medical Equipment Services (NCAMES) and the Virginia Association of Durable Medical Equipment Companies (VADMEC). Like Schafhauser, she finds that a number of home care providers have not been following competitive bidding. So in addition to lobbying for good policy and updating providers about Medicare changes, NCAMES is trying to build basic awareness in those who have fallen behind the curve.

On top of Medicare challenges, home care providers in Ohio face a raft of thorny issues with respect to the state Medicaid program. Kam Yuricich, executive director of the Ohio Association of Medical Equipment Services (OAMES), sums up a big part of the challenge with their state legislators: “They don't know what we do.”

But OAMES and other stakeholders in Ohio, including the Ohio Council for Home Care and the Ohio Association of Adult Day Services, are facing that problem head-on by holding their 2007 Home & Community Care Policy Conference right in the Ohio statehouse on March 8. The conference will include demonstrations of various types of home care services, equipment and therapies.