HME Audit Key

AAHomecare has launched a new program, which they call the “HME AUDIT KEY”. They are following the lead of the American Hospital Association (AHA). It is in place as a RACTRAC survey tool.

In these first two weeks, the AAHomecare Executive Committee and Board of Directors, along with VGM and MED, have already collected $43,500. AAH has contacted Provider Consulting Systems, the one AHA has signed on with.

Try to imagine how an audit by CMS would affect your company. There are so many ways that CMS (Medicare) is seeking to reduce fraud and abuse and save them many dollars. Fraudulent billing is committed by dishonest companies, organized by thieves who stay active until caught and then they disappear. The problem is that all the hard working companies, run by honest, diligent families and their employees are the ones who get hurt.

How would you, an independent DME dealer, respond to an audit?

 

Tom Ryan, president and CEO of AAHomecare

The time necessary and the cost to fight this alone would be prohibitive. All the pro-bono services your clientele has come to expect no longer means anything! What would this prove? How will you face your employees, their families and all your customers and tell them you are forced to close your doors? This will not happen if and when you become involved. Your support and complete cooperation with AAH will help you maintain your company. Don’t wait until it is too late!

We can no longer sit and watch. We have to back up AAHomecare by becoming a dues paying members now! If you wait too long, you may find your company forced to close.
We do not have any time to respond, this is already happening! We have to follow the lead that AAHomecare has set in place. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE, EVERY DME/HME DEALER MUST SUPPORT AAHomecare. THEY MUST RAISE $250,000 STAT! YOU MUST SUPPORT THEM SO AS NOT TO FACE SOME VERY DIRE CONSEQUENCES.

Don't Hesitate.... Participate!

Do not hesitate! Register now for Medtrade Spring in Las Vegas! Things have never been as critical for our industry as they are today! Your livelihood, as well as that of your clientele who depend on you, is at stake. Between now and Medtrade Spring-March 19-21, too many changes are happening and all of which must be monitored. At Medtrade, the experts that help guide our industry are standing together to keep our industry moving in the right direction.

Medicare and Medicaid are restructuring how they will control costs and distribution.  As for Medicare, we must get HR 6490 out of committee and on to the floor so it can be passed, or we will choke even further with the competitive bid legislation. We also have to work to bring about some very vital changes in the HR 6490 to make it more effective. None of this can happen until it gets to the House floor. 

The State DME Associations, the National Associations, NAIMES, VGM, MED Group and all the allied operations will be at Medtrade. We want to be sure that every DME/HME provider or dealer is on board and ready to join forces. By working together, our industry will succeed. 

“It's a critical year for the HME industry, and the feedback will help us make adjustments to what likely will be the most important Medtrade show in our 30-plus-year history,"  said Attorney Jeffrey Baird. 

When you recognize difficult problems that are approaching and the answers attendees will receive, then participating in Medtrade becomes even more valuable.

Please notice I use the term “participating” not “attending".  Since I am one of the few who have had the good fortune to attend every Medtrade Exhibition, I can say the following: For many years in the past, Medtrade was considered a holiday. Members brought their wives, employees, and children. That was the way it was then, but not the case now. Our industry must develop a much more organized answer to maintain what we have.  At Medtrade, you will accomplish many of your goals by “PARTICIPATING".

Need I say more? This is why I am sending you advance notice. Sign on now and be sure to bring with your key staff.

Visit www.medtrade.com to register for Medtrade Spring.  Discounted rates are still available.

You can make a difference!

I saw a quote from Elbert Hubbard, an American author born in 1859. It is so appropriate today that I felt you also must see it: “The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.”

Interesting that in 1859 citizens faced similar difficulties to what we do today. Things happen so quickly that by the time a dealer has adjusted to one, another appears. In the past 62 years many opportunities and difficulties have risen to the surface and I have watched how dealers get things done. The entrepreneurs adjust while the others are thinking, “what should I do.”

Via these blogs I have been showing original marketing ideas that DME/HME dealers have shared with me. One of the reasons I stroll the show room floor at Medtrade is to greet and chat with attendees. What has always fascinated me is how so many have coped with change. I report these in my blogs and will continue to do so. Please feel free to e-mail (shelly.prial@att.net) some of your accomplishments so that other DME/HME dealers will see them. In this fashion you will make a difference.

When I speak to dealers I always ask if they belong to their state and national associations. Invariably the answer is “yes, we do!” Yet it appears far too many DME/HME dealers do not. There are two national associations, AAHomecare and NAIMES, as well as the state DME associations. A dealer may think, “well it’s OK because they work for me whether I belong or not.” I have heard that comment often. It is wrong! You can make a BIG difference when you belong to your state and national associations. Your dollars will make them much more effective and maintain you in business!

When I discuss this with accountants or attorneys, they all agree that membership is a normal cost in operating a business. They indicate very specifically without the support and work these associations do on your behalf, you might find yourself forced to close. Make a difference¡ If you are not currently a member, please become one and then solicit the other providers and dealers you know to get on board. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Be a Joiner!

There are many ways to become better known in your community and in this fashion earn recognition for your company. All of the many groups you can consider joining can be a Rotary, Kiwanis or Lion club,  a school PTA or the library, just to identify some for you. Please become a member of these as an individual, not as your business and when you prove to be a “worker” that then reflects back to your company.

A DME/HME dealer I know in upstate New York founded a boy scout troop with his minister some years ago.  The church had large facility to hold the meetings and many scout activities. The troop grew and they developed a cub pack. Both grew and became well recognized in town.  Without ever mentioning his company his business grew. The community showed their appreciation by shopping at his home care location.

There also are very important business groups like the Chambers of Commerce. These are where you can become more well-known as Home Health Care provider where everyone knows your name.  Here you will find the Home Health Agencies and the Visiting Nurse Associations. You will also find that you will be sitting with executives from the local hospitals, MDs, pharmacists and other professionals. You have to join to know these people on a better level, as equals.

All of the above suggestions are to make your name and the name of your company recognized as an integral part of the community. It works!

But there are other associations, which you must join. You cannot protect your company alone! You need a strong army that will lead the battles with CMS, Medicare, Medicaid and everyone else who is your enemy. I am referring to the state DME and the national associations. Without their support you will not have the where-with-al to join anything. So I also ask that you contribute for your protection by joining! Without your dues they will be unable to maintain their efforts on your behalf. Become a JOINER!

What I learned at Medtrade...

When speaking with a great number of DME/HME attendees on the exhibition floor at Medtrade, I heard one major complaint repeated over and over: “What can I do to influence our legislators?”

There is no question that our industry is doing a fabulous job representing you in Washington as well as in the state capitals. They each provide the tools, information and handouts necessary to influence to the legislators. They also ask to get your customers, family caregivers and employees similarly involved. These combined voices are heard and you can see positive results in both the state capitals and DC.

But the biggest difficulty is there are not sufficient funds available to do even better! If every DME/HME dealer was a dues paying member of both their state and a national association we could really become much more effective. I was appalled when I discovered the low percentage of members who currently belong to their state DME association was much less than I anticipated. To exist in such a confusing market and to protect your business then membership in these associations must be closer to 100%.

Why is this the situation? Certainly the costs of becoming a member are minimal. Your accountant will show you this is a most important part of your operating costs. Membership in the associations are a critical element for running an efficient and successful business. There are no longer any legitimate excuses for not joining. Every dealer must pay rent or close their doors and equally important you must pay dues to these associations to protect your investment. This is what I learned at Medtrade!

Do you know the ABCs and ROIs of DME/HME?

ROI means Return On Investment. A good ROI is what every principal of a DME/HME company and their accountant seek.

Every service you offer requires an investment. It can be number of dollars or time spent. No matter what how you identify it, there is an investment made. Taking an advertisement, offering to do a seminar, holding an open house, speaking at schools and churches, all of these are time consuming and each has a cost. So be sure what you offer will provide you with an ROI. When done correctly these all will pay-off for you.

My main concern is how you maintain your inventory. A dealer last year at Medtrade told me about a “great deal” (his words) he obtained from one of his vendors. He purchased a six-month supply of their products for an extra discount. He thought he made a lot of dollars. I had to disagree!

More money is made by turnover; the number of times you sell an item and replace it. At a seminar I attended at a previous Medtrade this was explained as follows:

On January 1, you buy an item for $90.00 and sell it for $150.00. The gross profit in that transaction is 40%. If you sell that item and replace it only once a month, the ROI in one year of an investment of $90.00 is $720.00 profit. If you purchase a six month supply of the same item to earn an additional discount then you will run into the problem of storage, where and tear and handling. You have tied up your cash and these precious dollars are not available for anything else.

I believe the term accountant’s use is Activity Based Costing or “ABC”. It has proven to be much less expensive to pay few percent more than to fill your warehouse or storage space. Better profits always will come from “turn-over” and that reflects as a better Return On Investment (ROI).

Please discuss ROI versus turnover with your accountant because a fluid cash flow is the heart of any business. This is particularly true for DME/HME where things can change so rapidly.

To attend a seminar like the one I mentioned above, just visit www.medtrade.com and make the trip to Las Vegas April 9-12!

Take Action!

The best way to describe action is behavior with energy and resolution. It means getting off your chair and doing something.

In the past few weeks DME/HME providers have been asked to make phone calls, send letters and roll up their sleeves to fight some of the onerous legislation being introduced. You are also being asked to support specific politicians and legislations. Are you doing what has been asked of you?

I have on many occasions, when speaking with providers, tried to determine the response they received from the elected officials they contacted. When I receive a message from the state and national associations, I pick up the phone and make calls, write memos or send e-mails. I am sure that the great number of members of state associations, AAHomecare, NAIMES, VGM, MED Group and similar organizations do the same. They ask you to do something!

BUT……. When I hear from dealers who do not belong to these organizations they answer me with a ‘WHY’? If they don’t belong, they say they have no obligation. This shocks me, because they are “free-loaders” and beneficiaries of another person’s dollars.

Can you imagine how much more effective these associations would be if almost 100% of the dealers and providers paid dues, worked with their associations and joined in the battle? They need your energy and resolution! They need your financial support. They will keep you in business; they will help you fight the changes that can be destructive.

There is no one else who can do this other than you. NO ONE ELSE!

Stand Up for Homecare Medtrade Spring 2011

If you’re going to Medtrade Spring, be sure to join AA Homecare at the annual Stand Up for Homecare Reception. www.aahomecare.org/standupforhomecare

If you aren't going to Vegas for the show, be sure to check out AA Homecare's Action center to find out how you can help on a local and national level! TAKE ACTION