Home Health Agencies (HHAs) across the country are grappling with rising operational costs and burdensome administrative tasks in their efforts to deliver excellent care. These challenges are exacerbated by an often-overlooked source: Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and supplies.

For years, the default DME and supply strategy has included keeping large internal supply stock, juggling local vendors, and manually faxing orders. But as bandwidth decreases, margins thin, and payors tie patient quality to payment rates, this fragmented approach is no longer sustainable.

The Problem: A Triple Drain on HHA Resources

The DME and supply experience for HHAs, their clinicians, and their patients is plagued by three major pain points: Avoidable Costs, Administrative Inefficiency, and Patient Dissatisfaction.

Avoidable Costs: Missing the Insurance Opportunity

HHAs maintain their own supply closets for certain supplies: wound care, ostomy, urology, and other products which are included in bundled billing for Traditional Medicare. While this is required for Traditional Medicare patients and enables quick access, it can become a meaningful financial leak for HHAs that service patients who are not covered by Traditional Medicare.

Many HHA administrators are unaware that they can shift the burden of supply fulfillment for most non-Traditional Medicare patients (such as those on Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, or Commercial Insurance) to a third-party DME provider that bills the payor directly.

The Impact: HHAs spend an average of $120 per eligible order¹ when dispensing medical supplies from internal stock. HHAs pay out thousands of dollars each month that can be reallocated to other critical infrastructure.

Administrative Inefficiency and Wasted Time:
Tedious, Manual Workflows

HHAs that do use external providers often rely on manual, fax-based ordering that increases administrative burden and delays order fulfillment. 

Clinicians stuck in this outdated workflow often spend 20-25+ minutes per DME order². 

For an HHA serving 250 unbundled MA patients (averaging one order per patient per year), fax-based DME ordering costs clinicians two 40-hour work weeks every year. Not to mention the telephone tag with DME providers and patient grievance calls about mysterious order delays.

The Impact: Clinicians lose valuable time that should be spent on patient care - what truly serves patients, fulfills clinicians, and drives financial performance. 

Patient Dissatisfaction and Downstream Health Risks:
Delivery Delays

For many home health patients with chronic conditions and ongoing supply needs, the standard
1-2 week wait for supplies is a recurring nightmare that impacts their overall health.

CMS is tying patient experience scores to reimbursement outcomes via the Home Health
Value-Based Purchasing model and HHCAHPs survey, with Medicare Advantage and Commercial health plans expected to follow suit³.

Most critically, delivery gaps create dangerous downstream health risks. A one- to two-week delay in wound care, ostomy, or urology supplies after discharge with home health services can lead to preventable hospital readmissions for high-risk patients.

The Impact: Now with Medicare Advantage and Commercial payors favoring value-based reimbursement strategies, timely delivery and patient experience have become both a clinical and financial necessity.

The Solution: A Modern DME & Supply Strategy

Your DME and supply offering should be an asset, not an administrative burden. To address the growing cost and efficiency crisis, HHAs should adopt a simple, technology-forward approach.

Save money by referring non-bundled orders to a reliable DME & supply partner

The first step in fixing the leak is to stop distributing from your supply closet when it's not necessary.

Many HHAs assume all supplies are bundled under home health, but this is only true for Traditional Medicare (FFS) and a low number of PDGM home health episodes.

• Traditional Medicare & PDGM: Supplies are bundled into the episode payment.
• Most Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Commercial Plans: Supplies are typically reimbursed separately through the DME benefit.

This creates a meaningful cost-saving opportunity for HHAs, as they can pass on a greater share of their supply costs to be paid by the patient's insurance plan under the DME benefit.

Verse Medical can service all patients regardless of their insurance policy. By referring non-traditional Medicare patients to Verse, HHAs turn a cost center (in-house DME supply) into a cost-saving opportunity. 

Save time by submitting and tracking DME & supply referrals online

Manual faxing is the enemy of efficiency. And while many technology companies have pushed for electronic ordering solutions, they often fail for one key reason: They’re built to overhaul rather than integrate with current HHA workflows. 

In the world of digital health, DME ordering should simply fit with the HHA's workflows and EMR ecosystem, maximizing efficiency while minimizing disruption. 

To optimize ordering efficiency, HHAs should adopt an e-prescribe platform for DME that integrates directly with their existing EMR, at zero cost.

Verse’s online ordering software saves referring clinicians 17 minutes per order - time they can reinvest in patient care. Our platform can be integrated with all home health EMRs, including Homecare Homebase, MatrixCare, and Axxess, at no cost to the HHA. 

Improve patient care through service quality SLAs and preferred provider partnerships

Consistency is the key to quality. When HHAs curate their DME referral partners, they create a predictable, high-standard environment for patients and a unified ordering process for clinicians. 

To create the best DME and supply experience for clinicians and patients, HHAs can enter into Preferred Provider Agreements with qualified DME providers. These agreements adhere to strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and ensure that HHA partners receive priority processing and dedicated account support.

However, choosing a preferred DME partner can create access and experience risks. HHAs should only enter Preferred Provider Agreements with DME partners that:

The Path Forward

The transition from a fragmented, high-cost DME and supply model to a unified, cost-conscious model is no longer optional - it's a competitive necessity. 

Through Verse Medical’s technology and DME provider model, HHAs can recapture lost margins and ensure their patients receive the right supplies and equipment, at the right time.