Kalorama: Home Care Devices Market Grew 4.5% in 2014, But Challenges Remain

News provided by

Jan 28, 2015, 07:17 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2014, the U.S. market for home care products and equipment grew 4.5% from the previous year, with revenues exceeding $5.8 billion, as demand continued to rise with an aging population and an ongoing shift of chronic care patients from hospitals to home. Kalorama Information noted that this growth occurred despite the market being constrained by increasing pricing pressure due to the mandated Medicare Competitive Bidding Program. The report warns that competitive bidding may dampen some sector growth, but the overall market will continue to grow. The finding was made in the healthcare market research firm's new study, The Market for Home Care Products, 8th Edition.

Kalorama Information Logo

The report (available at http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Home-Care-Products-8653996/) covers the market for those products specially designed to assist with regular tasks of daily living, as in the U.S. more and more of the aging population and those with acute illnesses – as advances in treatment have transformed these into chronic diseases – are allowed to live fruitful lives at home.

"The largest contribution to overall sales in 2014 was wheelchairs and other ambulatory aids, home care beds and oxygen systems," said Bruce Carlson, publisher of Kalorama Information. "These categories will be affected by CMS competitive bidding, so the market may be challenged near-term. There are device areas that are not part of bidding, and our report details the expected growth in those categories."

The report notes that the competitive bidding program affects less than half of the entire home care market, but does cover the purchase of home medical items such as walkers, home care beds, power wheelchairs, scooters, oxygen equipment and supplies. This dampens growth in these market segments, which comprise 2014 sales of more than $2.5 billion or over 43.5% of the home care market.

As part of its home care market analysis, the healthcare market researcher's report includes current U.S. market size estimates and forecasts to 2019, breakouts of market by product type, disease demographics of relevance to home care product usage, market share of key competitors by device category, and discussion of issues and trends affecting the industry.

With the next cycle of competitive bidding opening in less than two weeks, legislation has been introduced to Congress that would ban non-binding bids. The lack of binding bids is seen by some as the weakness of the program, as in the current system bidders may submit bids with no obligation to accept the contract at the price at which they bid. The CMS then uses all of the bids to establish median bid prices. Therefore, purely speculative bidding might inform those final prices. The proposed legislation would make all bids binding and require proof of licensure for the next rounds of bidding.

Beyond competitive bidding, other trends directly affecting the home care industry are covered in Kalorama's report:

Health Care Reform
Cost Containment Issues
Improper Payments
Professional Services
Demographic Trends
Hospitals Shortening Length of Stay
Long-Term Care Insurance
Delivery Channels
Technological Advances

A broad range of companies compete within the U.S. market for home care products. Most are small, privately held companies that are active within only one or two segments. Many of these companies have long histories supplying a relatively specialized range of home care products and record annual sales in the range of $5 to $20 million; for some, sales are under $1 million. Although a few have international businesses, most operate exclusively in the United States. Companies profiled in this report include:

ArjoHuntleigh
Baxter International
CareFusion Corporation
Covidien
DeVilbiss Healthcare
Drive Medical
Graham-Field Health Products, Inc.
Hard Manufacturing Co.
Hollister Incorporated
Inogen, Inc.
Invacare
Joerns Healthcare
Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Medline Industries, Inc.
Philips/Respironics
Sunrise Medical, Inc.

The Market for Home Care Products, 8th Edition (Wheelchairs, Walkers, Other Ambulatory Aids, Oxygen Products, Infusion Products, Home Ventilators, Incontinence Supplies, Defibrillators, Ostomy Products, Bathroom Safety Supplies and General Supplies) can be found at Kalorama Information: http://www.kaloramainformation.com/Home-Care-Products-8653996/.

About Kalorama Information
Kalorama Information, a division of MarketResearch.com, supplies the latest in independent medical market research in diagnostics, biotech, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare; as well as a full range of custom research services. We routinely assist the media with healthcare topics. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and our blog at www.kaloramainformation.com.

Contact:
Bruce Carlson
(212) 807-2622
[email protected]
www.KaloramaInformation.com

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140801/132634

SOURCE Kalorama Information