Heading into 2026, leaders across the home medical equipment (HME) ecosystem were looking toward a landmark year ahead – one shaped by evolving policy dynamics, shifting reimbursement pressures and intensifying competitive forces.
And while challenges are certainly on the roadmap for 2026, many HME stakeholders are energized by both long-term tailwinds and emerging opportunities. Indeed, an aging population coupled with continued shifts toward home-based care is driving sustained demand for HME services – a trend underscored by private investment interest and platform-building activity.
To offer an outlook on 2026, HME Business reached out to several executives for their takes on the major storylines likely to define the year. Specifically, we asked:
– What do you anticipate being the No. 1 factor shaping the HME market in 2026, and why?
– What opportunity are you excited about in 2026, and why?
Across the responses HME Business received, one theme emerged clearly: competitive bidding sits at the forefront of industry concern and strategic planning. Several leaders pointed to competitive bidding’s potential to compress reimbursement and alter the supplier landscape.
Still, others viewed market maturation, cost pressures and consolidation dynamics as equally powerful forces that will shape business strategy in 2026.
The responses we received are below, edited for style, length and clarity. HME Business will be sharing further insights from these leaders focused on challenges and under-the-radar issues likely to shape the year ahead in coming weeks.
Note: Many of the perspectives in this piece were submitted before the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized its home health payment rule for 2026, including the expanded role of competitive bidding in DMEPOS categories, and also clarified competitive bidding timelines and product inclusions in subsequent guidance.
Rob Schlissberg, President, Cardinal Health at-Home Solutions
What do you anticipate being the No. 1 factor shaping the HME market in 2026, and why?
We anticipate that many of the proposed policy changes, whenever they are implemented, will force change industry wide. We’d be looking at a large-scale evolution across all players in the HME industry – from suppliers and distributors to manufacturers and payers and beyond.
What opportunity are you excited about in 2026, and why?
Cardinal Health at-Home Solutions had a stand-out year in 2025 – and the moves we made as a business are creating exciting growth opportunities for us in the coming year. After acquiring Advanced Diabetes Supply and US MED in 2025, we continue to integrate our direct-to-patient businesses together to create a platform that’s best-in-industry. We continue to automate and grow our nationwide distribution network; we recently announced our intent for a new distribution center in Sacramento, California, of which we’ll begin building in 2026. There’s a lot to look forward to.
There are incredible tailwinds that are contributing to our business’ growth and the industry as a whole. With an aging population, there are more and more patients entering the home care space. Manufacturers are introducing innovations that are changing the way people approach chronic condition management. Reimbursement in many categories continues to be more amenable to homecare models. We continue to see a rising interest in hospital-at-home support as well.
I often say to my business that there’s nowhere else I’d rather be – and this remains truer than ever. It’s a tremendously opportunistic time to be a part of the HME industry.
Jay Wendt, CEO, Stance Health Solutions
What do you anticipate being the No. 1 factor shaping the HME market in 2026, and why?
I think there will be a lot of activity leading up to the competitive bid. In my opinion, this will also drive further consolidation in the industry.
What opportunity are you excited about in 2026, and why?
The level of interest that the HME industry is getting from non-strategic (private equity) investors is fantastic. I have had the opportunity to speak to multiple investors this past year, and the excitement around this industry is real.
Specifically, the dynamics of an aging population and the need to move patients more deliberately into their home environment rather than the hospital has cited a lot of interest in the HME industry.
Jeffrey Baird, Attorney, Brown & Fortunato
What do you anticipate being the No. 1 factor shaping the HME market in 2026, and why?
Without question, the biggest challenge facing the HME industry in 2026 is the latest iteration of competitive bidding (CB). The previous CB program, while misguided, at least had some logic to it. The current CB program is DOGE driven. Its dual purposes are to (i) eliminate a large number of DME suppliers and (ii) drastically reduce reimbursement.
What opportunity are you excited about in 2026, and why?
The demand for DME will continue to increase. This will be driven by aging Baby Boomers, Generation Xs and Millennials, and the drive to decrease health care costs by delivering health care in the home. This increased demand will motivate DME suppliers to develop sophisticated business models to serve their patients in a cost-cutting environment.
David Gelbard, Founder and CEO, Parachute Health
What do you anticipate being the No. 1 factor shaping the HME market in 2026, and why?
The No. 1 force shaping the HME market in 2026 will be the growing pressure to reduce operational cost while maintaining service quality, a challenge made harder by ongoing staffing constraints and reimbursement compression. Providers can’t sustain manual, fax-based workflows that slow intake and add cost without adding value.
Digital transformation and automation will be more essential than ever for preserving margins and delivering a reliable experience to clinicians and patients. We’ve seen this shift across nearly every other healthcare vertical, and HME is now reaching the moment where efficiency becomes a defining competitive advantage.
What opportunity are you excited about in 2026, and why?
One of the most meaningful opportunities is in renewals and resupply, where many providers are still leaving significant revenue and patient adherence gains on the table due to process inefficiency. Even in an environment where reimbursement may tighten, improving renewal capture rates represents immediate upside through stronger continuity of care, better patient outcomes, and healthier financial performance. At Parachute we’re excited to launch enhancements to key partnerships like our integrations with Brightree that will help HME organizations investing in automated outreach, documentation collection, and patient retention.
Dan Fedor, Director of Reimbursement and Education, VGM & Associates/U.S. Rehab
What do you anticipate being the No. 1 factor shaping the HME market in 2026, and why?
The administration’s cuts to Medicaid. These cuts are not to address waste, fraud and abuse by the recipients but for other reasons. These cuts will have an impact on Medicaid funding, which is already not adequate. While they won’t go into effect until after Nov 2026 (the midterm elections) states are already planning and preparing for them which will impact patient care.
What opportunity are you excited about in 2026, and why?
The industry shifting the lobbying strategy with Congress for health care changes by dedicating those efforts and fundraisers to those that are TRUE CHAMPIONS of our industry and not for those that just say they are but vote against the best interest of our industry.
Pete Yelkovac, President, Lifestyle DME Group
What do you anticipate being the No. 1 factor shaping the HME market in 2026, and why?
Competitive bidding, if implemented, will cause a decline in patient care. Competitive bidding already has failed more than once. Applying this stale strategy will disserve patients and their healthcare providers and will harm quality HME businesses of all sizes.
What opportunity are you excited about in 2026, and why?
Manufacturers increasingly recognize that the stormy landscape of HME is an impediment to their own future profitability. We have been pleased to build increasingly solid relationships with manufacturers and distributors who understand the role that they have in cost-containment. They are communicating better than ever before, and they are also taking the time to drill more deeply into the HME world to understand its challenges. This increased communication and level of understanding is of great value to all of us.
Editor’s Note: To read part 2 of the HME Business Executive Outlook, turn to our February ebook, now available to download.
