The Skinny on Statistics I've read the Ultimate Crossword Puzzle (July 2003) article. Well done. My question is this: Do you have unit sales by product
Monday, September 1, 2003

The Skinny on Statistics

I've read the “Ultimate Crossword Puzzle” (July 2003) article. Well done. My question is this: Do you have unit sales by product category available? We are a medical device manufacturer and that information would help us in our planning efforts.
— Barry A. Schwartz, president, Contemporary Products Inc., Portland, Maine

Editor's Note: While HomeCare does not have the specific information requested, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services tracks the number of claims CMS paid for specific products. In fact, CMS has a special hotline set up for providing statistical information. The phone number for Medicare statistics is 410/786-3689. We recommend knowing the HCPCS codes for the products you want to track before calling.

A Fate Worse than Competitive Bidding?

As a small independent DME in Michigan, I have been struggling with a situation that should be impacting every DME in the country. We are being dumped into HMOs that are down-pricing almost all of our invoicing. We have been informed that we must accept 20 percent over our invoice costs, and [then] only if we provide copies of our suppliers' invoices.

I can only wonder how many DMEs can operate on this margin.

As a small owner-operated company that tracks our costs, I know that this does not cover our overhead. My question is, how many DMEs can live with this margin and what can be done about it? Is this something that we can collectively address?

We are notifying the carriers that we cannot accept this added cost of paperwork and reduced pricing, and we are preparing to go to the Small Claims Court for relief.

We feel that this is a greater problem for our industry than competitive bidding.
— Dale W. Richardson, president, R&R Discount Medical, Kalamazoo, Mich.

52% of respondents to HomeCare's August Web Poll said they would freeze employees' salaries if a seven-year CPI freeze on DME takes effect. Another 18 percent said they might freeze salaries.

E-mail your letters to Editor-in-Chief Gail Walker at gwalker@primediabusiness.com