Positive Trends and Getting a Win in HME

Published in Respiratory & Sleep on July 21, 2022

This article was originally featured in HME News.

Boone Lockard calls value-based care the “biggest ticket item” that HME providers need to buy into in the next few years.

Value-based care has been a buzzword in healthcare for years now, but Lockard, the director of VGM Respiratory with 12 years working on both the provider and manufacturer aisles of the industry, says the COVID-19 pandemic has propelled more care into the home and, subsequently, put more pressure on providers to show they’re helping to keep patients out of hospitals.

“I think if you can show your insurance payers that you’re keeping patients out of the ER or out of acute-care, that gives you leverage to negotiate contracts with those payers and also helps you win at the referral-source level,” he said. “If you can prove you’re not just dropping off equipment and that you have stats to back up your clinical program – that’s going to be a huge win.”

Here’s what else Lockard, who has more than 10 years of experience in the industry on both the provider and manufacturer aisles, had to say on a recent episode of the HME News in 10 podcast, including why there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for the CPAP market, how the new NCD for oxygen will be a “big win,” and why there’s promise in resurging value-based care models.

The recall, ‘the elephant in the room’

“There is a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “The Philips device recall is one of the largest medical device recalls in history and the folks at Philips are also doing what they can to make right by this. Every step of this remediation process had to be built from the ground up and there was no playbook to get through it. They’re doing everything they can.”

On a possible benefit of the recall: “Historically, there was ResMed and Philips in the CPAP market, and I feel like the recall has opened this up for other manufacturers to enter the space and I can see now there being a third or fourth major player in this market moving forward.”

The mission at VGM

“We’re here now more than ever to help providers bridge this revenue gap caused by the manufacturer crisis and exacerbated by the recall they’re working through,” he said. “My job is really to help members build or refine their ventilator or oscillating vest program. VGM is also great at connecting leaders throughout industry to talk about best practices and who’s doing what and what’s working for someone and what’s not working for someone even.”

To listen to the podcast, go here.

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