Highlighted Sessions
These sessions are included with a conference pass.
Structured For Success: DME M&A Explained
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 | 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM
Track: Legislative, Regulatory and Legal
Speaker(s): Bradley Smith, Managing Director/Partner, Vertess; Jonathan Sterling, Attorney, Brown & Fortunato
Do you know what it takes to buy or sell a DME company? For many current owners and new buyers, the process can be unclear and potentially overwhelming. Moreover, unprepared parties are more likely to make mistakes that impact the timing, profitability, and perhaps even the consummation of a transaction. This presentation will explain the step-by-step process of a typical DME sale/acquisition, from the evaluation stage through the closing process. It will also include various tips that buyers and sellers can incorporate to facilitate a closing.
Repair ROI: Strategies To Minimize Equipment Downtime And Maximize Revenue
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 | 2:15 PM – 3:15 PM
Track: Services
Speaker(s): Dan Meyer, Chief Revenue Officer, Repair Authority
Every day that a piece of equipment is out for repair is a day of lost revenue for an HME provider and disruption in therapy for a patient. Equipment shortages brought on by the pandemic, supply chain challenges and the Philips recall have made reliable repair services more essential than ever for HME providers. This session will explore the ROI of equipment repair, including understanding the most significant equipment repair challenges, deciding whether to repair in-house or outsource, evaluating a potential repair partner and exploring the potential benefits of retail repair for patient-owned units.
Blur The Lines Between Online And Offline HME Business – Getting Your Showroom, Websites, Customer Service And More To Work Better Together
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 | 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Track: Business Operations
Speaker(s): Lindy Tentinger, President, VGM Forbin
Your HME business is so much larger than just your showroom and offices. Your patients and customers start their journeys long before they ever step into your store. Representatives and customer support staff may be working from across town or even across the country. Products, files, presentations and more are constantly coming and going. Lindy Tentinger will help you get all of these different faces of your HME business pointed toward the same goals and working better together.
Swimming Upstream: Learn To Navigate Medicare’s Constantly Changing Guidance
Thursday, March 30, 2023 | 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM
Track: Audits
Speaker(s): Denise Leard, Attorney, Brown & Fortunato, PC; Kim Brummett, Vice President Regulatory Affairs, American Association for Homecare
The last few years have been anything but business as usual. We have been in the middle of a global pandemic which meant things were far from being business as usual. We have seen revised guidance to STARK and the Anti-Kickback Statute which address value-based arrangements. In addition, we are seeing increased use of telehealth and removal of certificate of medical necessity requirements. These changes to long-standing regulatory guidelines affect many different aspects of a supplier’s business. This program will discuss the current business and regulatory challenges that suppliers face. By understanding these changes and knowing how these changes affect your day-to-day operations, you will have the tools necessary to succeed in the months and years ahead.
Managing Expectations Through Marketing Analysis And Strategy
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 | 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Track: Sales & Marketing
Speaker(s): Kit Shellhouse, Independent Contractor
Creating a page and setting up an account is a great first step but tracking and trending the results of your social media and marketing strategy to confirm they are effective is essential to your success. Utilizing social media on all levels and embracing where you are and where you want to be positions you for future sales triumph. Connect with your marketing staff, be energetic about your goals and push to excel. Manage your ‘marketing’ and make sure you are taking full advantage of any opportunity by analyzing and measuring your efforts.
Antitrust Enforcement and Compliance
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 | 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Track: Legislative, Regulatory and Legal
Speaker(s): U.S. Department of Justice – Antitrust Division
A representative of the Department of Justice, Antitrust Division will provide an overview of the antitrust laws as well as an update on recent enforcement efforts at the Antitrust Division. Attendees will learn about the Division’s leniency program and its supply chain initiative. Attendees will also receive guidance on effective compliance programs, spotting red flags of collusion, and antitrust issues particularly relevant to the homecare industry.
Dissecting An OCR Investigation: A Case Study For HME Suppliers
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 | 10:15 AM – 11:15 AM
Track: Audits
Speaker(s): Kelly Grahovac, General Manager, The van Halem Group
Data breaches and cyber security have become common phrases in today’s conversation, and no place is that more prevalent than healthcare. As a healthcare provider you know the importance of having a HIPAA compliance program, but if the OCR took a closer look, would your program pass inspection? In this session, Kelly will walk you through an OCR investigation, as experienced from an actual HME supplier. Learn what the OCR expects from your organization and what type of evidence you need to prove your HIPAA compliance program can pass the test.
How To Create Accountability With Your Sales Team On The KPI’s That Matter Most
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 | 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Track: Sales & Marketing
Speaker(s): Ty Bello, President and Founder, Team@Work
In order to stay on track and focused on the right goals, your sales team needs to be educated on the KPIs that matter most. Without awareness of the KPIs they should be monitoring, it is easy to fall off track and waste valuable time on activities that aren’t relevant or critical. In this session, we will provide the key KPIs your sales team should be tracking and how you can train your team to be accountable for hitting these specific goals.
Medicare/Medicaid Managed Care: Challenges And Opportunities
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 | 10:15 AM – 11:45 AM
Track: Payer Relations
Speaker(s): David Chandler, Senior Director of Payer Relations, American Association for Homecare; Jeffrey Baird, Attorney/Chairman of the Health Care Group, Brown & Fortunato, P.C.; Laura Willard, Vice President of Payer Relations, American Association for Homecare
With about 50% of Medicare beneficiaries signed up for Medicare Advantage, and with about 70% of Medicaid patients signed up for Medicaid Managed Care, DME suppliers understand that managed care plays a big part in their lives. If a panel is closed, if a managed care plan contracts with a “sole source” DME supplier, or if reimbursement is unreasonably low, the negative impact on suppliers will be serious. Unfortunately, when DME suppliers try to make sense of managed care, they often find themselves staring into a “black box.” Statutes and regulations provide very little guidance when suppliers are being unfairly treated in the managed care space. This program is designed to shed light on the “black box.” Specifically, the program will (i) provide meaningful statistics regarding the involvement of DME suppliers in the managed care arena, (ii) discuss the federal laws governing Medicare Advantage and Medicaid Managed Care, (iii) discuss the well-deserved criticisms of managed care organizations, and (iv) describe the ongoing federal and state initiatives designed to provide relief to DME suppliers and other providers in the managed care space.
Mastering Your Resupply Business
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 | 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
Track: Services
Speaker(s): Joey Graham, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Prochant; Ronda Buhrmester, CRT, Sr Director of Payer Relations and Reimbursement, The VGM Group, Inc.
Successful HME’s with eligible product lines earn a significant portion of their revenue from their proactive, well managed resupply program. Join Ronda & Joey in a discussion on how leading providers are managing and mastering their resupply lines of business. In this session we’ll discuss workflow, tools/technology, product lines, payer/product specifics, and some do’s and don’ts for managing this important revenue stream.