Salaries Under Siege

Despite a host of impending challenges — not the least among them a 9.5 percent across-the-board cut on round one bid items and the 36-month cap on home oxygen rental, both set to take effect Jan. 1 — home medical equipment providers participating in HomeCare's Salary & Benefits Survey say they are prepared for the future, or at least getting there.

That's not to say they are happy about the industry's circumstances. Far from it. And keep in mind the survey closed before Wall's Street's recent meltdown, so had they been anticipated, the prospects of tightening credit and other financial fallout might have influenced some respondents' answers differently. That's also not to say these providers haven't taken some hits in readying their companies for what is to come: Almost one in four (23 percent) laid off employees in the past 12 months at an average 11 percent of staff.

credit and other financial fallout might have influenced some respondents' answers differently. That's also not to say these providers haven't taken some hits in readying their companies for what is to come: Almost one in four (23 percent) laid off employees in the past 12 months at an average 11 percent of staff.

But of 289 HME providers ranging from small mom-and-pops to national companies, 68 percent added staff in the past year, and more than a third (36 percent) created new job functions, albeit mostly to deal with accreditation/compliance. Moving ahead, the majority indicate staffing will remain at current levels in 2009, although many respondents say they do expect increases in outside sales (40 percent); customer service reps and showroom help (29 percent); delivery personnel (29 percent); billing/collections employees (27 percent); and service/repair staff (17 percent).

It's clear, however, the industry's tumultuous conditions have taken a toll in some areas, salaries notable among them. With only a few exceptions, employees' pay has fallen when compared to the results of HomeCare's last survey in 2006. Salaries for billing employees, who averaged $30,465 in 2006, fell to $29,115 this year. CSRs who made $30,325 two years ago now take home $29,463. And outside sales reps, whose average salary in 2006 was $51,570, now average $49,606.

The difference in salaries for HME company management is more extreme. Salaries for titles at the CEO and president levels plummeted a whopping 38 percent for participating providers, from an average $134,621 in 2006 to $82,253 this year. Sales managers suffered another harsh blow, with average pay at $65,150 in 2008 compared to $80,841 in 2006, a drop of 19 percent.