SHOW COVERAGE

‘A Fight for Our Lives’

At Medtrade, providers seek answers on competitive bidding, fraud measures & more

By Hannah Wolfson

Recent moves from Washington intended to fight fraud could harm legitimate home medical equipment (HME) providers as much or more than the bad actors they’re targeting, advocates and leaders said at Medtrade 2026 in Phoenix.

“There are going to be a lot of unintended consequences” to the renewed competitive bidding program and other efforts by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), Tom Ryan, president and CEO of the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare), said at the advocacy group’s annual update at the conference and expo. “The sustainability of all of you in this room is at risk right now … Basically, we’re fighting for our existence right now.”

Pushing Back on Competitive Bidding

The revived competitive bidding program was a focus of conversation and educational sessions at the show; Ryan and other AAHomecare leaders said they are working on correcting some of the most drastic components of it. One immediate focus was on working to halt the Remote Item Delivery (RID) program, which would centralize contracts among a handful of large suppliers, leaving most companies with no realistic way to participate and likely leading to massive consolidation in the sector.

“That is the death knell of the industry. That can’t happen,” Ryan said, adding that advocates planned to meet with the White House and CMS on the topic. “We need everyone to take this moment—it’s a defining moment—and make sure it doesn’t happen.”

Three new takes on core homecare products won the top awards at Medtrade’s New Product Pavilion, covering the mobility, aging-in-place and sleep apnea treatment markets.

The Provider’s Choice Awards are based on votes from attendees who view the products on the show floor; HomeCare sponsors the pavilion.

Gold Winner: Medtrade newcomer Rehasense took the Provider’s Choice Gold award for its PAWS Power Assist, a line of motorized add-ons for manual wheelchairs. Attendees voted on the eco assist, a small travel version that clamps onto the front wheel of any chair to give users a break while traveling around town, through an airport or beyond. It has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $3,800.

Silver Winner: The Provider’s Choice Silver award went to another Medrade first-timer from Europe, Vital Fjord, which introduced the UpRiser, an electric toilet assist that slides over any porcelain toilet bowl and requires no invasive installation. The Dutch company was founded by a group that used to make sit-to-stand desks for global furniture brands. When the founder’s wife needed toileting assistance, he turned to his own technology to help and came up with the UpRiser.

Bronze Winner:

The Provider's Choice Bronze award went to veteran sleep technology company SleepRes. Its new product, Kricket PAP, which uses the newly developed Kairos Positive Airway Pressure (KPAP) to treat obstructive sleep apnea. The proprietary technology adapts pressure delivery through the breathing cycle, which the company says makes it more tolerable for users than traditional CPAP. The Kricket device includes the KPAP algorithm but can also be used in traditional CPAP and automatic PAP therapy modes.

HME Moratorium Raises Questions

A six-month moratorium on new Medicare supplier numbers for HME providers, which was announced just before the meeting convened, also “puts a black eye on the industry,” Ryan said.

“It is an incredibly broad moratorium,” Cara Bachenheimer of Brown & Fortunato said in a conference session on legislative and regulatory priorities. “It is one thing to go after all these bad actors … (who are) bilking the Medicare program, but unfortunately it is written so broadly” that it may also prevent scrupulous existing companies from opening new locations or selling.

She said advocates planned to work with CMS to try to add an exemption for existing suppliers (most likely defined as those who have been active for more than 36 months) to continue normal business activities.

One provider that may be affected is DASCO Home Medical Equipment, which has 41 locations and planned to add provider numbers for three new ones—a project it had been working toward for a while, including getting leases and licenses, before submitting its application on Feb. 26. The moratorium was announced Feb. 25 and is believed to be in effect as of Feb. 27, when it was published in the Federal Register.

“You want the fraudsters to (stop) because they all hurt us, but it would be great if established companies can grow,” said Jeaneen Cole, vice president of quality and compliance for DASCO. “I get the goal, but the execution of it seems careless.”

Fraud Fight Continues

Ryan said that the industry must be proactive in working with Washington to fight fraud, and there are more efforts to come on that front in the coming months.

“We want to stand up and be a partner with CMS when it comes to fraud; we want to get in front of it,” he said. “We are the good guys.”

Tom Ryan, president and CEO of AAHomecare, awarded the organization’s Van Miller Homecare Champion Award to John Quinlan, president of Quinlan’s Pharmacy and Medical Equipment, saying his hard work earned him the nickname “Mr. Persistent” from New York Medicaid.

“I’ve seen firsthand how your persistence and steady leadership can turn a 'no' into 'let’s figure this one out,' Ryan said. Quinlan has held multiple leadership roles, including chair of the AAHomecare state leaders council, service on AAHomecare’s executive committee, board of directors and payer relations council and tenure as president of Northeast Medical Equipment Providers Association. Quinlan's Pharmacy and Medical Equipment serves patients in central New York through five locations.

The annual award recognizes leadership and service to the home medical equipment community.