HSN is short for HME Supplier Network. It is an HME provider group and purchasing alliance, and we expect it will be the largest network of accredited, independent pharmacies in the country.
1. We'll give you access to third party plans that can bring you new patients and, often, higher reimbursements than Medicare.
2. We will help you purchase DME at lower prices, which will increase your profitability.
3. We will offer you training in marketing your business to patients and to your local medical community, as well as training for you and your employees on how to supply DME.
You do not need a CMS number to participate in HSN, however, there is a great advantage to having one. Multiplan, the largest network of DME PPO plans in the HSN program, covering 40 million lives, does require suppliers to have a Medicare number.
Even if you do not have a CMS number, your business must be accredited by any of the ten CMS-approved accreditation organizations to join HSN.
They will have the same access to the third party plans and discounted pricing.
The program provides you with enrollment in an ever increasing number of insurance plans. Once credentialed, HSN members can market themselves as participating providers with these insurers and should coordinate their marketing efforts to attract these patients. The HSN Toolkit provides the help our members need to get started with marketing, training and merchandising.
Most basic items, such as canes, crutches, walkers, braces and supports, are covered by insurance. Bathroom safety items usually are not, but they are profitable cash sale products. To determine patient eligibility and insurance coverage, you should always call the insurance company (by using the phone number that appears on each patient’s insurance card). You will find more information on HME transactions and insurance company contact in the HSN Toolkit, which is available to you as soon as you become an HSN member.
A patient, physician's office, or discharge planner will see both of you on the participating insurance plan's list of suppliers. Your superior marketing activities will bring the patient into your store. We’ll teach you how.
Yes, you can. However,you may choose to use the centralized billing service accessed through your HSN account. This established billing service provides you with greater assurance of successful reimbursements and monthly reporting. It provides HSN with a mechanism to track the claims made on HSN-negotiated insurance contracts and to collect information for use in future negotiations on your behalf.
Call your HSN Network Specialist with inquires related to HSN's centralized billing service. If you have a question about a specific claim, call the billing agent you used to submit that claim.
One of the first lessons in DME marketing is the importance of setting up a DME planogram in the pharmacy and keeping it well stocked. A customer is more likely to buy something she can see and touch. But, you do not absolutely need to have an inventory of larger items; those can be ordered with next-day delivery.
There will be manufacturer catalogs available for each manufacturer through the “DME Purchasing” tab on the HSN members’ site.
You order products through the HSN site where HSN members will access catalogs from a number of manufacturers that list HSN negotiated pricing. If you do not access the product catalogs through the HSN site, you will not be getting HSN pricing.
We hope to have this arrangement in place with all of the major wholesalers very soon.
Always call HSN first. If we don’t have the answer, we’ll get you to someone who does.
An accreditation organization surveys your business operations and your policies and procedures for supplying DME-ALL of the DME you sell, not just the DME you bill to Medicare. If you add a DME product, you need to tell your AO.
First, show them what you sell with a DME planogram. We'll give you lots of other ideas for promoting DME inside your store in the HSN Toolkit. The HSN Toolkit section on Marketing will also teach you how to get the word out to the doctors, dispatch planners, and nursing homes in your community.
Most basic items, such as canes, crutches, walkers, braces and supports, are covered by insurance. Bathroom safety items usually are not, but they are profitable cash sale products.
As your HME business grows, you may want to add new products. If you add a DME product, you need to tell your AO. If it is a simple item, your current policies and procedures will probably cover it. If you add a complex item, your AO may need to re-survey your business. You might plan ahead and time the addition of products to your re-accreditation survey.