dsm wrote:I can't see how Resmed's business practices are the issue of individuals here at cpaptalk unless the individuals are being used in a market game.
I can understand if Johnny Goodman has issues with Resmed's sales practices if he is being squeezed by the bricks & motar DMEs (I think this is a well understood issue here).
If their actions significantly increases my cost for their equipment while others hold the line then I have a beef with them.
dsm wrote:I really doubt that Respironics business plan & profitability goals are in *any* way different from Resmed's or Puritan Bennett's. The comments about not having any concerns for patients but all concern for investors is at best a subjective opinion not backed up by other than an emotive appeal to an image of 'greedy business' and I am again in no doubt that that accusation has as much currency with Respironics as it does Puritan Bennett.
I didn't see any other of the manufacturers succeed in forcing an unnatural retail price on the internet providers. To top it off ResMed concocted this lie that those of us that use online DMEs are getting substandard support in a effort to support their policy. This move has little to do with greed and all to do with poor management.
dsm wrote:Are you telling us that Resmed should not be running a business but a charity ?, I know that is not what you are stating but the statement you made sort of implies this.
ResMed is free to set there pricing structure as the see fit, but that does not preclude us criticizing their practises if they are working against our best interests.
dsm wrote:I am sure I read here or elsewhere that the price increases were once again pressure being exerted on Resmed by its large distributors & that little of these increases actually get back to Resmed but go to their middlemen so how can you claim it is Resmed lining their own pockets ?.
As I see it, this is true... so how can one defend their actions as benefiting the shareholders?
dsm wrote: The only facts I see here are...
1) Resmed runs a business and like any business has legal responsibilities to their shareholders and the stock exchange.
See above
2) Resmed have been pressured by their large distributors to change some of their distribution methods and policies. This has affected the businesses of in particular, of Internet retailers and they have a right to be upset. But the culprit is their competitors who do more business with Resmed and are exploiting this.
The fact that ResMed gave in to this pressure and concocted a lie to support their actions shows a lack of character. I agree that the Large DMEs involved are also to blame. Are you saying we aren't picking on the evil DMEs enough here LOL!
3) That most individuals get their machines through insurance policies where the insurers work with DMEs to deliver. I can fully agree with individual being annoyed at what seem like high prices for machines & masks through these insurance claims but that issue applies to any equipment manufacturer. It is not just a Resmed issue.
The relevant point here is that companies like cpap.com have made huge strides to "fix" the problem of high priced equipment offered through the traditional supply chain. ResMed is working to "un-fix" the problem.
4) That people are being whipped up in an ongoing atmosphere of Resmed bashing as it serves a business purpose and not because lots of individuals are being impacted or harmed. Anyone of us who buys our own gear can vote with our dollars and if prices are a personal issue, we inevitably will deploy our dollars to where we want. That is called market forces.
Every retail internet buyer of ResMed equipment is harmed. I agree that folks can choose to purchase "others" equipment, but that does not absolve ResMed from critisizm.
5) The health system in the US may have some flaws in how health insurance works with the medical profession and the distributors of healthcare equipment.
It does amuse me that while the US is seen as the bastion of capitalism, & this is a good thing, that has prevailed against the flawed philosophy of communism & planned production, but when it suits some folk, they attack the very notion of a company conforming to the norms of capitalist principles that made the US great.
You are only half right. For capitalism to provide the maximum benefit to all concerned it needs the protection of the free market. Any thing that impedes a free and open market place will offset the balance in favor of the seller. This is no different than the existence of a black market offsetting the balance in favor of the buyer. Would you be in favor of that?
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