Eleven large providers and vendors have expanded their membership and financial support of the industry association by joining its new Diamond corporate partner class.

Amplifying their financial support of HME advocacy efforts, 11 large providers and vendors have expanded their membership in the American Association for Homecare by joining its newly unveiled Diamond corporate partner class.

The inaugural Diamond-partner companies are:

AdaptHealth Apria Byram Healthcare Cardinal Health Lincare McKesson Medline Medtrade Philips ResMed Rotech

The new Diamond tier represents a 25 percent increase in dues over the previous top sponsorship level (Platinum), which translates to an “unprecedented investment” by those companies in support of the industry’s public policy initiatives to "secure sustainable reimbursements and sensible regulatory policies,” according to Tom Ryan, president and CEO of AAHomecare.

“Their additional financial support, coupled with the expertise and involvement in our policy work that these companies contribute on a continual basis, will underpin our advocacy efforts to address the biggest challenges we face,” Ryan said. “These companies are rising to meet the moment at a critical time. Their actions should inspire everyone in the HME community to redouble their commitment to being part of industry advocacy.”

Improved public policy leads to improved outcomes for patients HME providers serve, added AAHomecare chair Bill Guidetti, who is also the east division president for Apria Healthcare.

“AAHomecare has a proven track record of guiding our industry to address policy shortcomings, but there’s still a lot of opportunity for additional success,” Guidetti explained. “It’s important we have industry-wide participation in advocacy efforts that are currently underway and others that are on the horizon.” 

Guidetti’s view that better policy results in better care was shared by his fellow provider members joining the Platinum class.

For Steve Griggs, CEO of AdaptHealth, his company wanted to continue backing the policy gains the industry has made in recent years, “and AAHomecare has played a leading role in making that happen.”

“The AAH leadership team brings not only years of experience but also considerable subject matter expertise on multiple fronts,” he said. “Even as a large company, access to them has been extremely valuable to our organization. I encourage all suppliers and other HME stakeholders to ‘reinforce success’ by increasing their companies’ involvement in shaping public policy and by upping their support for AAHomecare.”

“Over the past few years, the industry has made progress on a number of issues,” added Dan Starck, CEO of Apria. “We believe that it is incredibly important for the industry to continue this progress, and to deliver a clear, singular message.”

Supporting the association means helping the industry to continue caring for patients despite a healthcare marketplace that has seen considerable change, according to Perry Bernocchi, CEO of Byram Healthcare.

“Our industry is changing rapidly, fueled by recent market dynamics that continue to pose challenges to HME providers,” he said. “As the need for chronic care at home continues to grow, our industry must be able to effectively and sustainably support our patients. 

“We need to focus on advocating for the right policies, educating the right people, and leveraging the resources and experience of the association,” Bernocchi continued. “Over many years, AAHomecare has helped our company and our entire industry stay informed with legislative updates and armed with tools to help our business.”

“After the past 18 months and dealing with the impact that the pandemic had on the DME industry acting as a second line of defense, we believe strongly that it is more important than ever that we stand united to achieve the best possible care for our patients,” said Crispin Teufel, CEO of Lincare. “We appreciate the partnership with AAHomecare over the past years to accomplish this goal and look forward to further increasing our support for the industry.”

“Our commitment to be a Diamond level member simply stresses the importance for industry support and a consolidated voice,” added Tim Pigg, president and CEO Rotech.

For the new Platinum members that are vendors, increasing their support of AAHomecare was rooted in the notion that backing advocacy that turns into policy wins means better industry stability.

“We strongly believe in AAHomecare’s advocacy efforts at both the federal and state/local level to mitigate steep reimbursement cuts and ensure patient access is preserved,” said Yelena Brusilovsky, national director of sales for Cardinal Health. “… Through our support of AAHomecare at the Diamond level, we help fuel the Association’s meaningful legislative work, thereby empowering our HME providers to continue improving patient outcomes and driving innovation within the industry.”

“Being an advocate and steward for the markets we serve is a core belief that helps us support our customers and the patients we all serve,” said Paul Miller, director of business development and HME provider sales for Medline. “I encourage all HME leadership to get involved at some level with AAHomecare if they are not already. As we grow the association with all the resources, talents and time each of us invest, our voice will echo louder than ever, ensuring together we all share in a brighter and stronger HME future.”

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