A customer walks into your business looking for a lighter wheelchair to keep in the car. They already have one at home, so a second chair for convenience may not be covered by Medicare. They are fine with that, but this means they want something designed for how they live, not just their “medical necessity.” The question is whether you have something on the floor worth selling them.
Carrying more for this customer lets you serve people who will pay out of pocket for equipment that goes beyond traditional basics. It also builds a revenue stream that can help keep your business profitable as reimbursement pressures and the work of getting paid increase.
Reimbursement will stay the backbone of most HME businesses, but it can be a tougher place to find margin. The fee schedule decides what a chair is worth before the customer walks in.
Meanwhile, the work required to collect payment has not gotten lighter: a written order, medical necessity records, a claim, a wait, and the chance of a denial or an audit that reaches back for money you have already counted.
That work also scales with volume. Each additional reimbursed sale brings its own paperwork and its own exposure, so growing that side of the business can mean growing the billing team along with it.
The customer looking for a car chair has plenty of company. An adult child shopping for a parent may care more about whether they can lift the chair into a trunk than about what insurance will pay. An active user may want a chair that looks good and feels light, not one that simply checks the coverage boxes.
Others do not meet the coverage criteria or would rather buy today than wait on an approval.
What these customers have in common is that they are choosing for themselves, and they are willing to pay for it. If the floor only has basic models, many of them will settle for the cheapest option or take their business somewhere else.
Customers paying out of pocket shop the way they would for any other considered purchase. They compare options, notice design, and want the product to fit how they live. They also want their products as soon as possible.
A showroom stocked mainly with coverage-driven models does not give them much to choose from. A few premium products aimed at this buyer, kept where people can see and handle them, tell customers your store is somewhere to shop as well as somewhere to fill an order.
HME businesses already know how to sell wheelchairs, and customers paying for themselves are often willing to trade up for a lighter frame and a better look. Ultralight chairs built for a retail sale, such as Drive Medical’s AeroFly™ Ultra-litewheelchair and transport chair, are straightforward to demonstrate: customers can pick one up and imagine how much easier it would be to get into the trunk.
With frames under 14 pounds, the AeroFly™ Ultra-Lite Wheelchair& AeroFly Ultra-Lite Transport Chair are easy for cash-pay customers to take home
They also let you set the price and collect it at purchase. With no insurance claim attached, there is no claim to deny or recoup later.
For the dealer, the two kinds of sale compare like this:
The customers are probably already coming through your door, so much of the work is in recognizing them. The people who handle intake are well placed to notice who wants a second chair, who is shopping for a relative, and who does not qualify for coverage.
It also helps to keep AeroFly and similar products on display so customers can try them out for themselves.
If you track cash-pay sales as their own line, you will have a clear picture of what they are adding after a quarter or two. Your Drive Medical rep can go over the cash-pay items most relevant to your business and help you get started on growing this revenue stream.