Dealers Discuss: Barb Stockert, Government & Payor Relations Coordinator, MeritCare HealthCare Accessories
Editors Note
:
In addition to working at an HME company, Barb Stockert is the president of the Midwest Association for Medical Equipment Services (MAMES), a regional association that encompasses Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. For more information on MAMES, visit
www.mames.com.
Describe your business.We are one of the biggest HME providers in North Dakota. Our corporate office is in Fargo, N.D., and we have branch offices in Jamestown, Bismarck, Minot, and we also have one in Bemidji, Minn. We’ll be opening soon in East Grand Forks, Minn.
What types of respiratory equipment to you offer?Full line, everything. Currently, we have 13 RTs on staff and also two nurses.
What is the main respiratory equipment that you offer?Probably oxygen. We do both gas and liquid.
How did you first become involved in MAMES?A co-worker and myself attended a roundtable in Minnesota. The Department of Human Resources from Minnesota was there, and we learned so much. We found that providers were having the same issues we were. Just being able to sit down across the table from somebody and air out your problems and find resolutions to those problems was really helpful.
How did management respond to the idea of belonging to an association?I think that they have found value with networking and getting to know providers from other states and building relationships here in North Dakota. We have MAMES meetings several times during the year just in the state of North Dakota. We also meet twice a year with the Department of Human Resources or Medicaid, and we’ve also set up meetings with our Blue Cross. This has really helped providers to bring forth concerns that they might have, whether it’s billing or coverage issues, and they’re usually more involved than just a simple billing question. It’s more policy related. It’s really helped to clarify a lot of the coverage issues and policy requirements.
Why is networking important for providers?You learn so much. I can’t tell you the number of times that I can pick up the phone or I can send an e-mail to providers, other members in other states or even in North Dakota. “Hey, we’re having a problem with this. What do you guys do in this situation?” With traveling oxygen patients, somebody comes up here or one of our customers wants to take a trip to Kansas City. Well, you know what? I know a provider in Kansas City. We’ll work together and we’ll get this resolved for you.
How has belonging to a regional association helped your business?I think just knowing people from other areas, sharing ideas and the educational events. MAMES offers conferences twice a year. The speakers that you get at these conferences are top-notch; it’s the same ones you get at Medtrade. I think right now you’re finding your providers cutting back on the dollars that they can spend in sending staff all over the country. They’re going to go more localized. You can get a lot of the same educational events at your state associations, at your MAMES conferences.
I think MAMES has become a front-runner in our legislative issues. We try to be very active legislatively by standing and taking part in what’s going on. Actually, MAMES plans to have its strategic planning and board meeting in Washington, D.C. this year, in connection with the AAHomecare legislative conference.
With everything that’s going on with reimbursement right now, why is it especially important that providers join state/regional associations?I think right now the main idea is that you’ve got to find an alternative to Medicare billing. You can learn from each other. Somebody in another state might have an idea. “I’ve really had good success providing this item or selling this item or promoting this item.” Somebody else can pick up on it and it works for them as well. I think gone are the days that companies, whether they’re providers within North Dakota or providers within MAMES, are in so much competition. I think our competition is more with insurance companies than it is the providers because you are competing to get their business, whereas you’re working together with the company down the street to resolve issues. We’re all in it for the patient. Sometimes I think that people have a tendency to forget this with all of the competitiveness that’s in the market. I think this is the one thing that the government is not looking at, is what happens to the patient and what’s best for the patient?
This article originally appeared in the Respiratory Management May 2008 issue of HME Business.