Viemed Healthcare, Inc. (NASDAQ:VMD) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Casey Hoyt: Yes. I mean, we’re still finding new territories throughout, and it’s less about which state we’re in, Doug. It’s more about this going 60 miles down the road in coverage gaps that we have. So, nothing has really changed from the way that we’re growing organically. We’re find new sales rep and placement in new territories. Occasionally we find pockets where we’ll double down a little bit faster. Again, San Antonio is a market where we haven’t been too dominant, but we found some really good reps and got some good coverage coming over there here. That’s as an example. What was your other part? Oh, the VA. Yes. The VA is ongoing. Pilot, I mean, it’s underway and it’s €“ we’re actually going to take it to another area as well.

So, that’s going to be exciting. The major win really with the VA right now, I mean, the material win, I should say, Doug, is through staffing. We’ve really been landing a number of different staffing on-track inside the VA as we have the network. We’ve been having the conversations with the complex respiratory business and we’re just established contracts that have other needs. And so, yeah, you know, we’re in perfect position to just kind of be that solutions provider to them. But the pilot’s ongoing and the fact that we’re getting to present it into another territory is exciting for us because that means there’s another pulmonology group that saw what we’re doing in South Carolina and says we want to do it for our area.

Doug Cooper : And sorry, great. Thanks, Casey. Just a last one for me. I see you renewed your issuer bid, stock getting hit a bit this morning, is this something you would see as opportunistic with the stock down 10% today?

Casey Hoyt: I mean, we’ll obviously monitor that, Doug. I was clear on the prepared remarks that we hadn’t been active right now because our M&A team is pretty robust right now, as far as potential leads and so forth, but we will €“ the buyback, I guess, remains in place right now. So, we will be opportunistic and update the market accordingly.

Doug Cooper: Great. Thanks guys and congratulations again on the quarter.

Casey Hoyt: Thanks, Doug.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Prasath Pandurangan with Bloom Burton. Please proceed with your question.

Prasath Pandurangan: Good morning. Congrats on the quarter. First, just to confirm, have the benefits from the new CMS rates being fully captured in the 1Q guidance? If not, how much further growth in pricing do you see in the upcoming quarters?

Casey Hoyt: Yes. They are in the first quarter guidance. And as I mentioned, I mean, we have some €“ we have been rather conservative with our bad debt assumptions. We typically reserve at a higher rate in the first quarter than others if you’ll go back and look and see last year. So, with insurance changes and reauthorizations and all kinds of things that hit us in the first quarter, we take a conservative view of that. But yes, they have been embedded in our numbers.

Prasath Pandurangan: Got it. And then following up on the non-ventilator side of the business, how do you see the product mix evolving throughout this year? And also, could you comment on its size relative to the vent side of it?