As always, AAHomecare will be fully represented by its team of staff at Medtrade 2013 in Orlando, Fla. As one of the show partners, AAHomecare understands the value of Medtrade’s exhibits, education, training and networking that have been the hallmark of the show for more than 25 years.
As we approach this year’s event, there is a new sense of unity and urgency within the industry. The merger of NAIMES and AMEPA with AAHomecare, along with the addition of three new staff members who possess decades of industry experience, has effectively doubled the association’s membership and created a stronger national organization. Several state associations dedicated to working closely with AAHomecare help us present a robust, unified face to Congress and CMS.
While the home care sector—especially the HME component—is changing rapidly for many reasons, there is an unceasing need for the products and services supplied by HME providers, and there will always be someone willing to furnish those services. As the sector continues to evolve, providers and manufacturers will, too. And as providers and manufacturers evolve, so will Medtrade. This evolution is part of every industry; the HME industry in particular has been slowly changing for a number of years, despite the hesitancy of some within it.
Stuck in old ways with old attitudes, some people simply refuse to change, and their businesses will get left behind. When this happens, new people with fresh ideas see nothing but opportunity on the horizon. Medtrade is the ideal place to find those opportunities and ways to turn adversity into success. Whether it is a new product, an updated way of selling an old product, or just a different take on a way of doing business, chances to learn, grow and think outside the box abound—and Orlando will be the place to find them. HME company owners and their employees should be at Medtrade to join thousands of like-minded HME businesspeople seeking ways to strengthen their businesses.
Driven by this new HME landscape and all of the regulatory and legislative challenges surrounding it, AAHomecare will also evolve as a national trade association. And if trade associations are changing, this also means that state HME associations must grow along with their members.
Medtrade is a prime opportunity for the national and state trade organizations to get together, share ideas about how we can all advance to meet the needs of our members and remain relevant. As the number of providers diminishes through closures and consolidations, competition for membership becomes a concern. Regardless, both AAHomecare and the state associations continue to play a vital role in the HME industry.
AAHomecare focuses on the greater government relations role at the national level, and it also supplies many benefits to its members and state leaders, as well as the industry as a whole. Every provider in the country can benefit from the efforts of the national and state associations, if every provider becomes a dues-paying member.
This year at Medtrade—a point at which the effects of the Medicare bidding program will likely reach a peak—a provider’s demand for new opportunities must include supporting the trade associations. AAHomecare will have a booth, and there is also space for each state and regional association to set up a table. All will be focused on attracting more providers who are interested in an association membership that will support efforts and help change public policy for the HME industry.
Fewer than four percent of the HME providers in the country belong to AAHomecare, and the percentage of providers who belong to their respective state organizations is not much higher. Just think of the power our associations could hold if we had even 25 percent of the industry as members.
As many HME/DME providers attend Medtrade in Orlando this year looking for opportunity, AAHomecare and state associations will be doing the same. We are looking for opportunity to grow and better serve the industry. To help with that process, we invite everyone who attends the show to stop by and talk to us in real terms about what true association membership means.
