A DME (Durable Medical Equipment) business is a company that deals in healthcare-related items intended for use in the home for an extended period. There are multiple products in DME e.g., wheelchairs, glucose monitors hospital beds, and nebulizers, etc. These products are often covered by insurance plans and Medicare that the equipments are planned for long-term use. Starting a DME business allows you to sell and distribute durable products to those who require them, you will receive payment against these products either directly or through an insurance company that covers DME products.
Planning
A perfect plan is required for success as an entrepreneur. This will help you to organize and specifies of your business and find some unknowns.
Here are some topics to look at:
- COST: What can be the start-up and ongoing costs?
- Target: Identify the target market?
- Pricing: What will you charge the customers?
- Brand Name: What will be the name of your business?
Cost to open a DME / Home health medical supply
If you are planning a storefront, finding a good location should be one of the top priority. An average retail showroom can be approximately 1500 square feet, with additional space for storage. According some market studies most profitable locations are in strip malls or shopping centers that are close to medical offices and hospitals.
You should be ready along with inventory, licensing and insurance, promotional materials, and a good creative website average cost you around $14000 for a small showroom. The initial cost to open a mid-sized business can increase to almost $250,000, while a big sized medical equipment supplies business needs over $500,000 in start-up capital.
Nowadays, due to COVID, people are preferring to buy online or order online. So, you should be ready with your good eCommerce website.
Business Registration and Compliances
Once you manage with your initial funding to start a durable medical equipment supply, you will need to register your business with the various levels of government. All federal registrations need to be done with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service).
For specific licenses of certain product types, you need to consult with the American Medical Association. If you are selling products that require a prescription, your business need to comply with the health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA).
Manufacturer or Medical Product Distributor
You need to find a manufacturer or a distributor from where you can purchase your required durable equipment to supply them further to customers or patients. It totally depends upon the contract between the manufacturers and distributors, may some brands will have to be purchased from a manufacturer. Some brands may only be purchased from a specific distributor.
Credentialing and Medical Billing
Credentialing process is time-consuming and complex for any company, particularly for DME providers. You must need to start as soon as possible as you can then plan what information will be needed for your first application. This report will include a detailed summary of your services over time with all required and related documents.
Ideally, you need to become in-network with at least 10-12 carriers to start with, which can take around 90 to 120 days or more.
We offer RCM services to almost 40+ specialties. We employ only certified and the best people in our force. You can consider Medical Billers and Coders (MBC) for getting your practice credentialed and for billing. We know all the required steps to get your DME company matched with the perfect insurance company for your business.
Call us today or email us at info@medicalbillersandcoders.com to know more how you can get credentials and how the DME company can bill an insurance company.